


Bee-Tober 2020

by Jakobre_the_Writer



Category: RWBY
Genre: A bit of time hopping between chapters, Angst, Bee-tober, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Vampire AU, Vampire Hunter!Yang, Vampire!Blake, abuse mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:28:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 78,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26735905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jakobre_the_Writer/pseuds/Jakobre_the_Writer
Summary: A small story inspired by the words in Blake_Belladonna_Defence_Force's Bee-Tober!The streets of Patch are being stalked by a monster without form, a creature with no conscious. Yang Xiao Long is determined to keep her family safe, and dedicates herself to hunting the beast. When she finds them, she has no idea that her life will never be the same.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 275
Kudos: 165





	1. Day One-Inn

**Author's Note:**

> So when I put up Silver Tipped, which was literally four hours ago, I said I wasn't going to expand it until later.  
> So that was a lie, apparently.  
> Vampire AU! Let's go!

The interior of the Flower Power Inn was always a vibrant, explosive sea of color and sound, a hundred people shoved into a building meant for half that and drinking an ocean of ale each night. The building was crowded, fit to bursting with people surrounding the handful of tables and packed around the bar, leaving only a few pockets of open space to move through. It was these tiny havens of space that the staff used to slip between patrons, delivering food and drink with all efficiency of a well oiled machine. 

At the bar the owners entertained the patrons in front of them, regaling them with stories of heroes long gone and slinging drinks with practiced expertise. The bard plucked at his guitar while the red haired singer with emerald eyes sang an upbeat song about a warrior who could turn into a crow. 

It was an exciting night in the Inn, the same as every other night but a different spectacle every time. Regulars were just as willing to sit back and be entertained as newcomers, who hung on the words of the owners with bated breath. The door to the inn never stopped opening, either letting satisfied patrons leav and newcomers replacing them just as quickly. The owners danced around one another, orange hair bobbing and black hair flowing as they moved, looking more like professional entertainers than barkeeps. Still, their skills was undeniable and no one was left thirsty for long. 

Yes, it was another good night for everyone, and the owners were already making a mental tally of how many people there were and how much they were drinking. Or at least the black haired one was, watching his wife fondly as she entertained a pair of merchants with stories from Atlas while she refilled their tankards. He allowed himself a happy sigh at the sight, then gave their supplies a once over. Everything was well stocked, they’d made sure of it, but they were running low on fresh casks. He walked up to his wife and tapped her lightly on the shoulder, making her glance over her shoulder in curiosity. “Yeah hon?”

“We’re running low on ale,” he said, “You mind grabbing some more?” 

“You just like watching me flex,” his wife said with a roll of her eyes, “But that’s why you love me!” He smiled and opened his mouth to speak, only for his wife to lean back on the bar and speak the to merchants in a conspiratorial whisper, “He would never be able to run this place without me, I’m the brains of this place.”

He snorted with laughter and said, “C’mon Nora, that ale won’t get itself.” Nora stood up with a beaming smile and snapped into a sloppy salute.

“On it Ren!” With that she ran off towards the basement. Ren watched her go with a wistful expression, shaking his head lightly as she went. Gods, he loved that woman. Then he turned to the merchants and asked,

“Anything else for you? We have a lovely pot of stew in the kitchen.”

One of them, the one with shaggy orange hair, shook his head with a smile and said, “None for us thanks. We ate before we came.” His companion pouted but didnt’ say a word. Regardless he seemed to udnerstnad and gave her a sidelong glance. “We have plenty of food back at camp.” The pout only grew until he let out an exasperated sigh and said, “Fine, stew for both of us. I’ll never hear the end of it otherwise.” Ren nodded and walked into the kitchen to grab some stew. When he returned with two steaming bowls, the merchants were silently arguing with exaggerated hand motions and Nora had returned, now entertaining a new pair. Ren dropped off the stew and took the Lien he was owed, tucking them below, before turning his attention to the new pair entirely.

A pair of young women sat at the bar, listening with amused expressions as Nora went on about how she and Ren had built the Inn from the ground up. The blonde woman had one arm slung around the black haired Faunus’ shoulders, the Faunus leaning into her protectively as they listened to Nora. 

“...when the storm hit,” Nora was saying, “This massive tree just barely missed the foundation, scraped it by inches, swear to the gods.” Ren rolled his eyes with a fond smile at that. Nora was, as usual, exaggerating the details greatly. A tree had collapsed during that storm, Ren remembered it well, but it had been deep in the forest surrounding the town and nowhere near the Inn. Still, it made for a good story and the two women were listening intently, the blonde one particularly enthralled. She was nodding and responding at all the right places, making Nora preen happily at being such a good storyteller. “Ren spent weeks, months even, fixing the place up after that.”

“I thought you said it missed,” the black haired one asked and Nora flushed red briefly before covering it up with,

“Well, it did, but there were lots of branches and...birds nests and things.” Ren winced in vicarious embarrassment as he saw Nora smile broadly to cover up her gaff. For all her skill as storyteller, Nora wasn’t a terribly good liar. She liked to have her heart on her sleeve and while it was part of the reason that Ren had fallen head over heels for her it was also part of why he had to do all the negotiating with merchants. Nora was as likely to get into a fistfight with them as to buy anything. 

“We used to have storms like that, back home,” the blonde said softly, “Tree branches do a lot more damage than people think.” She glanced at her partner in a matter of fact kind of way, making her partner roll her eyes playfully before sinking into her embrace further. 

“See? Months of work!” Nora continued her story, delighted at being vindicated, and Ren went back to the rest of the bar. Nora would be busy entertaining the two women for the rest of the night, and while that meant that Ren would be shouldering the lion’s share of the work it also meant that Nora would get out all her energy before bed. Trying to get that woman to sleep after a slow night was like wrestling an avalanche.

As the night wound to a close Nora finally exhausted her supply of stories and skipped away, humming happily that she had done a good job entertaining their customers. Ren leaned on the bar, cleaning a glass as he took stock of the patrons left over. Now it was just a scattered few, the merchants from earlier once again arguing and the two women, as well as a handful of others in the rest of the Inn. A handful were staying the night in the rooms up above and the ones who weren’t were either staying nearby or would try and sleep in the barn. Ren had given up chasing people out of the barn a long time ago. He and Nora knew what it was like to be desperate. As long as the people sleeping there didn’t hurt the animals or steal anything, they were welcome to stay. 

As he cleaned the glass he tried not to listen to the conversations of the people around him, but the bar was quiet and there was little else to focus on. Besides, the only conversation he could hear was the one from the two women who were glancing at the merchants on the far end of the bar and muttering to one another. Ren tried his best not to listen, but couldn’t help but overhear a few choice words.

“...sure it’s them?” the blonde murmured and her partner nodded firmly.

“As sure as I can be. How many people can switch the color of their eyes?” she asked and the blonde grunted softly. “Other than us, love.” 

The blonde was silent for a long moment, then said, “Slave traders, huh?”

“Dealing in Faunus mostly.” This was more of a growl and Ren suddenly felt very small indeed. He had never been one to be afraid for no reason, but somehow the black haired woman made him feel like running upstairs and hiding under the covers like a child. With that he turned away from them entirely and put his glass away. It was clean enough for him and besides, he didn’t want to be a witness when the fighting started. That was how these things went, of course. The two women were here for vengeance of some kind and he didn’t want to be blamed for allowing it to happen. He’d nearly lost the bar once before for that kind of mistake, and wasn’t about to make it again. 

So he did other things for the rest of hte night, trying not to look at the two women or the merchants and only wiping down the bar when they had both left, the women following the merchants out after they left. He cleaned hurriedly, bid the staff goodnight, grabbed Nora, and all but bolted upstairs to their bed. Nora had assumed this meant that he was feeling rather adventurous, but the worried look on his face told her otherwise.

“Ren?” she asked softly, “What is it?” 

“Those two women,” he murmured, “Did anything seem off about them?”

Nora furrowed her brow in thought, then shrugged, “I don’t think so. The one with black hair had some pretty sharp teeth, but she was a cat Faunus. They can have those, right?” 

“I...don’t know,” Ren admitted, then sighed heavily. “We should make sure the doors are locked tonight.”

“Why?” Nora asked slowly and Ren shook his head.

“Those women are going to attack the merchants. I heard them talking about it earlier. I don’t want trouble.” Nora opened her mouth to protest, maybe to advocate going to help the women, but she closed it again, only murmuring,

“Okay. We’ll be safe.”

Ren nodded again and the two double checked that the doors were locked and the animals were secure in the barn, politely ignoring the people sleeping in the barn with them. The night passed uneventfully, as did the day after that, and the next few weeks. It was long enough to make Ren feel like a fool for worrying at all, but then Jaune, their bard, had stumbled into the bar, leaning heavily on an equally shocked Pyrrha. Ren and Nora had rushed over to them, helping them to chairs and sat them down, asking what had happened, if they were okay. For a long time, neither said anything until finally Jaune choked out,

“Those merchants.” Ren’s blood ran cold as though he’d leapt into an icy fjord, only growing colder as Jaune continued, “One of the guards found their bodies. Pyr and I saw them they-they were-” He gasped and faltered, then grit his teeth in determination, “It was just skin and bones. No blood on them anywhere. People are saying it was demons.”

“That’s...that could mean anything. They could’ve starved or-or froze to death,” Ren said, even as Nora draped the two musicians in blankets and gave them ale to warm their hearts. Jaune shook his head with a grimace and muttered.

“We  _ saw _ them, Ren. That wasn’t starvation and it sure as shit wasn’t freezing. They were drained. Something  _ drank _ from them like a fucking tankard.” He spit the words in rising panic, and Pyrrha placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he calmed down, if only just. “Sorry Ren, I don’t think we’re singing tonight.” Ren stood with a sigh and ran a hand through his hair, glancing at the door. The thought occurred to close down for the night, but he banished it as quickly as it came. They had enough saved up to wait out one night, but people would need somewhere to cheer up as best they could. Even if none of them had known the merchants, they would still be reeling from shock. Kuroyuri was a small town. Nobody wanted to feel like they were being preyed upon, and there was safety in numbers. 

“That’s fine, Jaune,” he said absentmindedly, his thoughts on other things, darker things, horror stories his parents had told him as a child.

Demons was a laughable concept, a fairytale. Vampires, on the other hand, were far more real. 


	2. Day Two-Pottery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the second day of Bee-tober, the island town of Patch suffers a mysterious attack. Local security chief Coco Adel investigates, only to run in a familiar mercenary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire story is going to be by the seat of my pants for a plot, so this is gonna be fun!

Three hundred years prior... 

The town of Patch was what could be politely called a sleepy little town. It could impolitely be called a backwater hovel, but most people who thought that didn’t stay for long, running back to their vistas in the hills of the City of Vale. The people of Patch thought it was a lovely little town, quaint even, full of rolling hills for shepherds, small patches of fertile land for crops, and a thriving fishing industry that still supplied a good percentage of the fresh fish for the more urban parts of the Kingdom of Vale. 

Every day started off exactly the same way, with the early rising livestock farmers getting up first and letting their animals out to pasture in order to clean their stalls. Then the fishermen woke, climbing into their boats with bits of banter and laughter, the sounds of which roused the farmers and got them moving into their fields. Those who stayed at home woke next, beginning to pound millet and grain into flour for bread, and it was said that if you lived on Patch long enough you could even begin to recognize which of your neighbors woke up first just by the pattern of their work. Finally the children would wake up, pouring out of their houses and into the street to play before doing chores or going to school when it wasn’t harvest season.

Yes, Patch was an idyllic place and one that anybody with a good head on their shoulders and a strong work ethic could etch out a life in. A handful of folks took care of the more industrial parts of things, banking, trading, arts, and the like, but from the docks on the shore to the rolling fields to the town center and its beautiful fountain, people on Patch were hard working folk. Everyone who lived on Patch thought it was a nice, quiet place to make a life and raise a family.

It was for this exact reason that the entire island had come to a standstill with the sound of breaking pottery and a piercing scream. Just before sunrise someone had woken up with a start, not knowing which way was up and which was down, but knowing that a great and terrible  _ something _ had just happened. They glanced out their window to see the potter next door had been broken into, the window smashed and the door caved in as though by some mighty bear. But there hadn’t been bears on Patch in years, at least not this close to town, and so the head of security was called.

Coco Adel wasn’t really the head of security, as such a position hadn’t been created or even needed on Patch within the island’s history. But she was a retired soldier, sporting a nasty injury to her eye that had seen her honorably discouraged from her archery company, and that was going to have to do in a pinch. She rushed over to the scene, nearly forgetting to throw on a coat in the early fall chill, bow in hand and sword at her hip, a trio of arrows clutched tight in her grip. She skidded to a halt in front of a small crowd that had gathered in front of the pottery shop, murmuring amongst themselves and blocking the crime scene from view, kept from entering by a handful of men with bright orange patches on their jackets, the mayor’s men, Coco knew.

“Make way!” Coco yelled and the crowd looked back. After recognizing her, they pulled away, some literally pulled by their compatriots, and gave her an avenue to approach the potter’s shop. The potter themselves was nearby, inconsolable while her wife tried to soothe her as best she could. Coco nodded curtly at the pair, and the potter’s wife shook her head subtly. There would be time to question them later, right now Coco had other things to attend to. 

She stepped inside expecting carnage and mayhem, but there was none to be found. The entire pottery shop was immaculate, except for the busted in door and the smashed window. The broken glass that remained had a few specks of blood from whoever had decided to dive through for entry, and whoever had followed had decided the door needed demolishing. Aside from that, nothing had been touched, not the dozens of pots, jars, and other things on the shelves, not the other windows, not even the lockbox tucked under the counter. There was, Coco noted, a small impression on the floor, presumably one of the people involved in the case had lain there for some time. Aside from the door and window, nothing was out of place. A small hint of metal flitted through the air as Coco inspected the place, but it was nothing of any real note. People exchange money in here all the time, the smell of metal was expected. 

She stepped back outside and clapped one of the mayor’s men on the shoulder, who turned around with a start. “Looks clean in there,” Coco said, “Wasn’t there an attack?”

“There was, ma’am. One victim,” the man said and Coco furrowed her brow.

“Then where’s the body?” she asked and the man recoiled as though insulted.

“We covered it up and the coroner came to collect it, ma’am. Tis only common decency. We don’t need the townfolk seeing something like...that.” Noting his hesitation, Coco narrowed her eyes and asked,

“Like what?”

“It’s nothing ma’am, just a bit unnatural looking.” The man withered under Coco’s glare and continued with a squeak, “Just seemed a bit dry, is all.”

“Dry?”

“Yes, ma’am. Like he’d been lying in the sun.”

Coco hummed softly in thought, then turned back to the potter’s shop to check if she’d missed anything. As she went she called out, “Disperse the crowd, if you please. I need space to work properly.” Soon the mayor’s men were shouting at the crowd, which dispersed with a mixture of trepidation, annoyance, and fear. The fear, at least, Coco could understand. It wasn’t every day this kind of thing happened in a sleepy town like Patch.

By the time the crowd had dispersed there were only two people left near the potter’s shop, even the potter herself going home for the day. Coco glanced over her should to tell the bystander to leave, only to pause and sigh. She would know that blonde hair and pair of lilac eyes anywhere. “Morning Yang.”

“Morning,” Yang Xiao Long said, stepping forward as Coco turned to get a better look at her. The woman looked well, much more mature than the reedy girl that had decided to try her hand at being a mercenary five years ago. She was more muscular for one, broader than Coco by half and nearly half a head taller as well. On top of that she had light leather armor on, complete with patches of chainmail, a crossbow slung over her back and a small hammer at her hip. A pouch of bolts completed the look, as did the travel bag she had slung over her shoulders. “What happened here?”

“Bear attack,” Coco said automatically and Yang frowned, furrowing her brow in frustration.

“A bear that knows not to break pottery?” Yang asked, gesturing inside and Coco sighed.

“That’s the best explanation I have right now. I haven’t even seen the body yet, they took it away.”

“Probably didn’t want to cause a panic,” Yang mused, “But there was a body?”

“There certainly was,” Coco said, looking up and noting Yang’s pensive look, the faraway gleam in her eyes. “It was a bear, Yang. That’s all it was.”

“Maybe-”

“Maybe nothing,” Coco snapped, harsher than she’d meant to. She sighed and looked away, hands on her hips before saying, “Listen, I know what you want it to be, but it’s not. It was either a bear or someone wanted a debt collected the quickest way there is. You know that Patch has an underground.”

Yang snorted derisively at that and shook her head. “I do indeed.” She sighed and gave the potter’s place another glance before saying, “I’ll be in town for a while. If you need help, let me know.”

“I don’t need a mercenary, Yang. I need evidence,” Coco said and Yang rolled her eyes.

“The offer still stands.” 

Coco sucked on her teeth in thought for a moment before nodding slowly. “Fine, I’ll keep it in mind. How did that go, by the way? The whole mercenary thing? Badly, I presume, since you’re back on Patch.”

Yang laughed at that, but it wasn't the same bright, vibrant sound that Coco remembered. It was dimmed somehow, blanketed by the bitter reality of life outside of Patch. “It went well, actually. That’s why I’m still alive.” She turned to go, waving at Coco as she went, “You know where to find me!” she called back and Coco waved as she left. As Yang walked off, Coco sighed heavily. She needed to see that body. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Yang Xiao Long enters the fray! Can she put aside her troubled past to figure out who's been stalking the streets of Patch?


	3. Day Three-Leak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day Three of Bee-Tober!  
> Yang returns home after six long years, and it's almost like she's never left.

Yang shifted her pack as she walked up the hill towards her childhood home. The sights and smells of Patch delighted her as she walked, awakening all the memories she hadn’t had the time to focus on while traveling through Vale. The wind rustled through the trees, the birds sang as fall approached, leaves fell and tangled in Yang’s hair as she walked, even the jangle of her armor fit nicely into the sounds of Patch. She breathed in deep, smelling the fresh baked bread wafting up from the village proper and, in the distance, the smell of animals as they grazed in the fields. Yang felt her smile soften as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment of just being for a while. It was nice to be back on Patch. She’d been away for too long.

Yang wasn’t the kind of person who skipped, not anymore, not since spending a few years with the Branwen Mercenary Company. Time, training, and taking an arrow through her thigh had nearly driven it out of her, but approaching her old home brought the childhood instincts back like they’d never left. Soon Yang was all but sprinting up the rest of the hill, almost falling over her own feet in her hurry to see the place she’d grown up again. 

She crested the hill and let out a happy sigh, intercut with heavy breaths that always came from sprinting in full armor and carrying a sixty pound bag. The house was just like she’d remembered it, a simple cabin tucked away on the outskirts of town with a small barn for the horses and tiny crop plot where they grew potatoes. Even now she could almost hear her mother calling for her to come inside from chores, or her sister barging into the barn to ask if she could ride the horses, or her father yelling for her to get her ass in gear and get some chores done. Gods, she had missed all that. For a moment it was like she had never left at all, had never traveled across Anima to find her estranged birth mother, had never fought tooth and nail for her approval. For a moment she was a kid again, with an excited bounce in her step as she watched over the animals. For just a moment, she could’ve sworn she heard Summer calling her name, beckoning her home. 

“Yang? Yang is that you?” Yang blinked hard and snapped her head up and back to the present to find a familiar woman standing in the doorway of the cabin, watching her with fiercely intelligent silver eyes. Yang broke into a smile and then a run, barreling towards her mother like an ox. Summer smiled as well even as tears began to fall from her eyes and met Yang in the middle, the two slamming together and locking arms in a hug with the weight of years behind it. “Oh, my dragon! My sunny little dragon, it’s you!” 

Yang buried her face into Summer’s shoulder to hide her tears, like she’d done so often as a child, but this time they were tears of joy rather than the tears of sadness at a horse nipping at her or fear from a storm outside. “It’s me,” Yang choked out between halting sobs, “I’m home.” 

“You were gone for so long,” Summer sobbed, “And I hoped that you were safe but then I heard about this attack in town and I thought-I thought-”

“I’m safe, mom,” Yang murmured, giving her mother a reassuring squeeze, “I’m home safe.” 

Summer cupped the back of her daughter’s head, cooing softly as she held her close. Yang heard her mother’s breaths grow short, felt the tears wet the top of her head. They stayed there for a long while, as the sun wheeled by overhead, clouds soared past as the world turned around them, but for Yang and Summer the world had frozen in place. They were at once two adult women, mother and daughter finally reunited after so many years, and a mother and her young child, comforting each other and giving each other the reassurance that they would never leave. Eventually, Summer sniffled and pulled back, meeting Yang’s tearstained eyes, her own red and puffy. “Come on,” she said softly, “we should let Tai and Ruby know that you’re back.” Yang nodded and allowed her mother to lead her into the house, into the same home that Yang had known for the first twenty odd years of her life. It was exactly the same as she remembered, from the woodstove roaring in the center of the house, to the small brick oven that served as their kitchen, the ladder that led up to the loft where she and Ruby had shared a bed since they were children. The smell of cookies hung in the air from the oven and somewhere in the living room somebody was writing furiously. Yang felt like she’d never left, like she was entering a memory.

“Tai!” Summer called out as they entered, “Ruby! You’ll never guess who I found outside.”

Immediately there was the sound of scrambling feet and someone bounded around the corner so quickly they were almost a blur of red. Yang smiled broadly as she recognized her little sister, silver eyes gleaming as she righted herself, tugging on her red cape to keep from stepping on it. Those silver eyes lit up and Ruby squealed, launching herself at Yang and nearly bowling her over. “Yang!” she screamed into her sister’s chest as Yang wrapped her up in a hug, swinging her around delightedly.

“Ruby!” she cried out, the tears bursting from her eyes once more and as she put her sister back down she nearly collapsed to her knees, the weight of the emotion almost too much to bear. 

“I have so much to tell you!” Ruby squealed and Yang smiled fondly at her sister, who wriggled out of her grip and dashed back to the living room. “I’ve spent the last six months cateloguing the birds around Patch. You wouldn’t believe how much variety there is this time of year.” Ruby came charging back around the corner with a collection of scrolls tucked under her arm, which looked like they were covered in drawings and details. 

“Still trying to be a naturalist, huh?” Yang teased lightly as Ruby came to a halt in front of her, impatiently pulling out one of the scrolls and unfurling it to reveal a beautiful series of drawings over the various birds around Patch. She rolled the scrolls out of hte floor and Yang knelt next to her to get a better look. Ruby immediately clung to her like lichen to a rock, like Yang might vanish into the ether once more. Yang nuzzled her head against her sister’s affectionately, then turned to the drawings. Of the birds that Ruby had drawn, some Yang recognized like the seagull tucked in the corner or the small section on robins, but others she had never seen before, like the long necked bird Ruby had named a kingfisher or the tiny orb of a bird that Ruby had scribbled ‘lots of yellow’ next to. “Oh…” Yang breathed out as she saw them, “Holy shit, Rubes, these are amazing.” Immediately she flushed red and glanced at Summer with a sheepish smile, “Sorry mom.”

Summer smirked softly and rolled her eyes, “Don’t worry about it Yang. Being with Raven will give anyone a filthy mouth.” She cleared her throat and called out, “Tai! Come here for a moment!” 

There was a muffled, “I’m almost done with this piece, give me a moment!”

Summer grumbled something under her breath and yelled back, “Your daughter is home!”

“Ruby’s back?” Tai said, “Where did she go.”

Yang snickered as Summer sighed in exasperation, rubbing her temples as though to relieve a headache. “I swear, that man couldn’t find his way out of an empty room,” she muttered, which made Ruby laugh, “Not that daughter, Tai, the other one!” Summer yelled and there was a long pause before Tai exclaimed

“Yang’s home?” The door in back burst open and Yang felt her eyes fill with tears once more. Gods, she felt like she’d sprung a leak she was crying so much. Tai looked around wildly, his gaze softening as it landed on Yang. She had expected him to charge her as well, to wrap both her and Ruby up in a hug and keep them there like he might never let go. Instead he sagged against the doorframe in relief and murmured, “Hey little one.”

“Hi dad,” Yang choked out and she stood, Ruby hanging on like a squirrel, and she walked up to Tai, burying her head into his chest. The two hugged in the doorframe, tears falling like a stream between the two of them, and Ruby joined in the hug. Soon Yang started as Summer wrapped her arms around all of them, and then Yang began to sob openly, not even bothering to hide her tears anymore. Soon they were all crying, and the hug collapsed to the ground in a messy, tear filled pile as they clung to one another, finally reunited after so long apart. 

Eventually Summer extricated herself from the hug, murmuring, “I have cookies to take out.” Ruby immediately perked up and Yang glanced over to see her sister’s eyes shining with excitement.

“Chocolate chip?” she asked and Summer nodded with a small, knowing smile.

“What other kind of cookie would this household eat?” she said dryly and Ruby cheered, breaking off from the hug and racing after Summer towards the oven. With just Yang and Tai left, the two gave one another a squeeze then separated, helping one another to their feet. Tai smiled softly down at Yang and clapped her on the shoulder.

“Good to have you back, kiddo.”

“It’s good to be back, dad,” Yang said softly and Tai smiled in such a way that it almost brought Yang to tears all over again. But instead she sniffled and held back her tears, letting her dad lead her to the table near the kitchen. Yang slung her bag off her back and leaned her crossbow up against the table, which Tai gave an appreciative once over.

“My little girl came back home ready for a fight,” he said with an amused smile and Yang shrugged in response.

“I learned a few things while I was out there with Raven. Roads are dangerous in Vale these days.” She stroked the crossbow affectionately and smiled at it, then, “Besides, mercenaries don’t get much done without a good weapon.” 

“I bet they don’t,” Tai said, a flicker of sadness appearing in his eyes but it was gone before Yang could call it out, “Raven was good to you, right?” 

Yang sighed and looked away for a moment, watching Summer place a tray of fresh cookies on the counter, smacking Ruby’s hand away without so much as a glance. “She was Raven,” Yang said softly and Tai nodded in understanding. “But I’m back now, so what does it matter?” Yang said with a tired smile and Tai forced a smile of his own. “What’s been going on in Patch?” 

Tai settled into his chair, stroking his chin in thought for a moment. “Well, it’s the same as it’s always been around here. Harvest looks good, and the Cotta family thinks they’ll be able to sell extra cheese at a lower price this fall, they had a good calving season this year.” Yang nodded, leaning on her hand happily as she listened to her father explain the goings on in Patch. “The orchard on the hill, you know the one that Scarlatina woman bought a few years ago, they’re doing well. Oh! And Miss Scarlatina married Coco Adel, so there was a celebration for that a few weeks ago.” Yang frowned, wishing that she’d been in one place long enough over the past few months to get a letter about that. It must’ve seemed rude not to congratulate Coco when she saw her, and Yang made a mental note to do just that when she ran into their head of security again. “Fishing is fishing,” Tai continued, “and other than that things are pretty much the way they were when you left.” He frowned and looked away, studying the table for a moment, then said, “There was that attack though, in the potter’s place. Damn shame, that.”

“I passed by there on my way in,” Yang said, “Coco wasn’t sure what was going on. She thought it was a bear but it was too clean for that.” 

“So what do you think it is?” Tai asked, leaning forwards and Yang shrugged.

“I don’t know. It could’ve just been someone looking to collect on a debt,” Yang mused, twirling her hair idly in thought, “But even then something would’ve been broken aside from the window and the door.”

Tai nodded in agreement, looking up as Summer approached the table with a plate of cookies, Ruby hot on her heels looking so much like she had as a child that Yang couldn’t help but laugh softly. “Regardless of what it was,” Tai said, “We should all stay indoors tonight. I don’t like the thought of something wandering through town attacking folk.” 

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Summer agreed as she slid into a seat next to Tai, placing the cookies on the table. Ruby all but dove for them, and Yang had to lean back to avoid the explosion of cookies and limbs as she attacked the plate, scarfing down three cookies in as many seconds and grabbing four more. Summer gave her a disapproving look, which Ruby shot down with a winning smile. “Leave some for the rest of us, would you dear?” 

“I won’t take any more, promise,” Ruby said, nodding solemnly even as she grabbed a fifth cookie for her collection. Yang rolled her eyes fondly and took a cookie for herself, savoring the smell as she broke it in half, watching the chocolate split and stretch as the cookie let off steam. She took a small bite, almost groaning with delight at the taste. She’d tried cookies all across Vale, up and down the coast and in the big cities from the best bakers in the Kingdom, but none of them compared to Summer. She sighed happily and chewed the cookie slowly, trying to squeeze every ounce of flavor out of the cookie as she ate. There would be more cookies and more wonderful cooking from Summer, but right now Yang was going to get as much enjoyment out of this cookie as she could. 

“Great work hon,” Tai said, wrapping an arm around Summer as he ate, Summer curling into his body instinctually. She smiled softly at the praise, quietly eating her own cookie. The family sat in contented silence for a while until Ruby, have devoured the rest of her cookies, asked,

“So what happened in town? I heard Sun talking about something going on when he came by,” Sun, the man who delivered milk from the Cotta’s cattle farm, Yang knew, “but he didn’t seem to know what was going on.”

Summer and Tai shared a look and Tai shrugged. “A bear attack, they think. Poor thing probably got lost looking for food and broke into the potter’s shop thinking there was something in there.”

“But wasn’t there a body?” Ruby asked, with a curiosity that would’ve put anyone else off their lunch. The family, on the other hand, was used to Ruby’s incessant questions and her insatiable desire for knowledge, and Tai frowned slightly.

“Yes, well, it probably attacked someone out of fear,” he said and Ruby frowned slightly, seeing through the lie like it was glass. She glanced at Yang, who shrugged subtly and Ruby nodded. They would have to talk later. Yang had her own theories about what it might have been, but her father wouldn’t stand for it. That could come later. 

“Oh, okay,” Ruby said with a smile, then turned to Yang fully. “So what’s it like being a mercenary?”

Yang laughed and ruffled Ruby’s hair lightly, making her whine and bat at her hand, “It’s rough,” Yang admitted, “A lot of traveling and pinching your pennies most of the time. Raven had us doing guard duty or, ah,” She paused to come up with a good way of saying thievery that wasn’t too obvious and settled on, “acquisition. We would go out and find things for people, bring them back, get a cut of the sale.”

Ruby nodded quickly and Yang knew that she had figured out the implicit meaning of Yang’s words that she had ‘acquired’ most of these items from other people. “Sounds like fun,” ruby said and Yang winced. Truth be told, being a mercenary was rather boring. A good job only lasted a month at best, then it was a week or two of sitting around hoping that something came up. Raven got them work quickly, but not quickly enough for Yang’s liking. She was from a farmstead, going half a day without something to do drove her insane, never mind a few weeks. It didn’t surprise her, therefore, that a lot of her compatriots in the Branwen Company had taken to taverns or brothels in their time off. Yang had decided to shy away from those kinds of comforts, instead retreating to hidden groves to relax or a library when the town was big enough to have one. The fact that most libraries in small towns had pretty librarians didn’t hurt either. When there was a job it was usually fast, hectic, and downright dangerous. Most of the time the Branwens could pull off a job without much trouble, but every so often the people they were robbing realized and started to try and take those items back. That was why Yang had to crossbow, to cover her compatriots while they got the items in question and shoot anyone who looked like they might cause trouble. Stealth, as Raven had decided after only knowing her daughter for an hour, wasn’t Yang’s strong suit. 

“It’s fine,” Yang said with a shrug, “But there’s not much time for exploring.” Ruby physically shrank away at the idea of not being able to wander into the woods for hours, days sometimes, studying the local flora and fauna. Sitting still had never been one of Ruby’s talents, demonstrated even now as she was bouncing in her seat. Trying to change the subject as best she could, Yang said, “Qrow says hi by the way.”

“You saw him?” Ruby shrieked, “How is he? What’s he doing? Does he miss me?”

Yang rolled her eyes fondly and adopted her uncle’s gravelly drawl as best she could, leaning on one hand and saying, “Not a chance, kiddo.” Ruby scowled playfully while Tai and Summer started to laugh. Yang turned to them and said, “He wants you to know that he’s safe. Busy being a blacksmith in Vale these days, got a few merchant friends he hangs out with.” Yang laughed and shook her head, “This one guy from Atlas, Clover, was head over heels for him, but you know Qrow.”

“Oblivious as ever, right?” Tai said with an amused smile.

“Clueless,” Yang said with a roll of her eyes and the whole family laughed. They passed the rest of the afternoon and into the evening chatting and talking, like they had never been separated at all. Yang felt the same warm glow of familiarity in her heart that she always had with her family, even with everything that had changed. She wasn’t the same young woman who had left all those years ago, she felt older, exhausted some days, but it was still good to be home. “So,” Yang said as the night wound to a close, a delicious meal devoured only moments earlier, “Is there a lot to do around the house? I’ll be in town for a while.”

“Raven let you take a break?” Tai asked, raising an eyebrow and Yang shrugged with a weak smile.

“I left the company. It got a bit...hectic.” Insidious was probably a better word, ever since that Cinder woman had started paying for their services, but Yang didn’t want her parents to worry too much. “So I don’t really have anywhere else to go right now.”

“Oh, well in that case,” Tai said in that way where you know there’s going to be a list of work to do, delivered with a smile, “You can start by helping Ruby patch the barn roof finally.”

“Patch the bar-It’s been six years since that storm, dad,” Yang said in exasperation, remembering the storm that had sent a tree branch through the roof of the barn and very nearly into one of their horses. 

“So it’s been leaking for six years,” Tai said, “And you’ve been meaning to do it for six years, little lady.” 

“Dad, I was on the other side of Vale!” Yang protested in exasperation, but Tai was firm even when Yang started to pout and said, “You could’ve fixed it at any time.”

“Xiao Longs never give their word-”

“Unless they plan to go through with it,” Yang said with a tired sigh, “yeah, I know dad.” 

“Then you’ll fix it,” Tai said even as Summer rolled her eyes at the antics of her family, “Besides, I’m busy with the woodworking business, Summer’s afraid of heights, and Ruby gets too distracted watching birds and squirrels to be up there alone.”

Ruby let out an indignant sound through a mouthful of cookies, having demolished half the plate on her own, and Yang chuckled softly, glancing at her sister. “Wanna fix it tomorrow?” Ruby nodded and Yang opened her mouth to speak, only to have the words replaced by a yawn. “Oh, fuck me,” she muttered, then smiled sheepishly as her mother glared at her halfheartedly. “Sorry mom.” 

“Raven really rubbed off on you, didn’t she?” Tai drawled and Yang laughed, biting back her hope that she hadn’t rubbed off  _ too _ much. Yang would rather avoid winding up like her birth mother, thank you very much. She yawned again and Summer said,

“You should get some sleep. You must be tired after traveling all this way.” Yang nodded gratefully and excused herself from the table, grabbing her things and heading for the ladder before pausing and turning back.

“I can still use the bed up here, right?” she asked and the entire table gave her such a perplexed expression that she scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. “Right, of course. Night all!” Everyone wished her goodnight and she climbed up the ladder to the loft. After tucking her crossbow and hammer in the corner, she changed into her night clothes and collapsed into the bed. It was hard, itchy, and more than a little uncomfortable, but it was home. Yang groaned happily and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of cookies, leaky roofs, and roaring fires.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a sucker for a good family reunion scene.   
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	4. Day Four-Protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang promises to teach Ruby how to defend herself. In the night, she finally confronts the vampire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four days in and we finally get some Bees! That's right, I misunderstood the challenge!  
> It's all Bees from here on out.

The next day Yang was up on the roof with some spare wood planks and her hammer, a few nails in a bowl nearby and one clenched in her teeth as she positioned a board over the six year old hole. That was the best thing about using a warhammer as a weapon, Yang reflected, it was multipurpose. You couldn’t say that with a sword. She knew that some people in the Brawen Company had liked to get philosophical about the creation of swords, but she had let that go by without much thought. Philosophy didn’t keep you alive when the men with swords broke down the door. 

A grunt of effort got her attention, breaking her out of her reverie, and she looked over to see Ruby clamber up onto the stable roof, her sketchbook under arm and a few pieces of charcoal clenched in her hand. 

“You know we’re supposed to be fixing the roof, right?” Yang said, taking the nail out of her mouth and positioning it on the board, tapping it in enough to stay in place. Ruby shrugged and opened her sketchbook, glancing up into the trees with narrowed eyes.

“We will. I’m just waiting until you need me to help out. The birds aren’t going to wait that patiently,” she said. She gasped and suddenly her hand was a blur, sketching out a small chickadee in a branch above with such skill and accuracy that it almost made Yang drop her hammer in awe. 

With a fond shake of her head, Yang turned back to the nail, holding her hammer above the nail hesitantly. “There’s nothing patient about you, Rubes.” Ruby scoffed at that, and Yang said, “This is gonna scare the birds once we get going.”

“Hang on, gimme a second,” Ruby said, adding the finishing touches to her rough sketch, which was still good enough for a royal commission in Yang’s opinion. “Okay,” Ruby said with a quick nod, tucking her charcoal into her pocket. Yang nodded in response and hammered the nail in place, feeling the satisfying sensation of it wedging nicely into both the new board and the existing roof. It wasn’t going to be a pretty fix, but seeing as Tai hadn’t bothered to fix it for six years, Yang didn’t think he’d mind too much. 

“Can you hold these?” Yang asked, passing the bowl of nails to Ruby, then moved over to the next corner. She held out a hand and Ruby placed a nail in it and soon the process continued as they added plank after plank to the roof until the job was done. The sun was high in the sky at that point and the two sisters were sweating even as the leaves fell around them. Ruby was now holding Yang’s hammer carefully, tapping the nail in with her tongue out in concentration. She leaned back in satisfaction a moment later, the nail only slightly askew. “Good job, Rubes,” Yang said with a smile and Ruby beamed at the praise. Just as quickly a frown passed over her face and she glanced at the hammer, then up at Yang and asked,

“So what do you think attacked that person in town?”

Yang shrugged as she took the hammer back, working on the next nail, “I dunno, but I don’t think it was a bear.”

“Like a person?” Ruby asked and Yang shrugged again, only looking up when Ruby gasped, “Was it one of those monsters that mom told us about?”

“I dunno,” Yang said again, “I’d have to see the body.”

“So there  _ was  _ a body!” Ruby said with a breathless excitement, “There’s a monster on Patch, that’s so cool!”

“That’s not really how I’d say it, Rubes,” Yang said with a small smile, “Kinda scary.”

“Nah, it’s not scary,” Ruby said firmly, shaking her head as though Yang was being the foolish one here, “We’ve got you. No monster could take you down.”

Yang winced, trying not to think of how many people could take her down, never mind supernatural monsters. “Yeah,” she said slowly, “But dad’s still right. We should stay indoors at night.”

“But what about owls, Yang? I don’t have any sketches of owls and the collection won’t be complete until I do. Not to mention other nocturnal birds! I have so much work to do at night,” Ruby pouted and Yang laughed, ruffling Ruby’s hair like she had the night before, which her sister let her do with a small scowl. 

Ruby’s dreams of being a naturalist weren’t going to fade away just because some supernatural monster was stalking the land, and Yang knew it. “Okay, so maybe if things calm down we can go outside at night.” Ruby cheered and Yang held up a finger of responsibility, “But, I’m gonna need you to know how to protect yourself. And I’m not just talking about being the fastest runner on Patch, either. You’re gonna need to know how to defend yourself.”

“I do know,” Ruby said, punching her sister lightly on the arm, “Mom taught us both a few things when we were kids.” It was true, Summer had taught both her daughters how to defend themselves from other people, just in case they ran into any particularly lecherous folk in their lives. It was a good foundation, and better than most people had in their back pocket, but Yang knew it wouldn’t be enough against a trained, determined fighter, never mind some of the creatures that Summer suspected lurked in the hidden places of the world. 

Yang rubbed at her arm for a moment, then said, “Yeah, but I mean some real protection. Like a knife or a dagger or-”

“A scythe!” Ruby exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air, “Like what uncle Qrow uses!”

“You want-” Yang started to protest, only to stop herself. The only way to keep Ruby from learning how to use a war scythe now that the idea was in her head was to come up with an even more ridiculous weapon, and a scythe was about as ridiculous as they got. That was until you went to Mistral, where someone had decided to take the idea of ‘weapons’ and turn them into everything under the sun. Yang still didn’t understand how someone could use a sword that behaved like a whip, but the effectiveness couldn’t be denied, nor could the scar it had left across her back. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Ruby said, her face flooded with confusion, “What do you mean, okay?”

“Let’s get you a scythe,” Yang said with a shrug and Ruby broke into an open mouthed smile.

“You’re the best, Yang!” Yang smiled softly at her sister’s excitement, then the two got back to work. They spent the rest of the day fixing the roof and talking, going over the basics of using a two handed weapon. Yang preferred a one handed weapon herself, if not her fists, but she knew enough to give Ruby a proper rundown of things she needed to practice. Now all they needed was a scythe.

Two weeks and many more chores later, they had convinced the village blacksmith to forge them what Yang had called a Vacuan scythe, with a long blade coming vertically out of the shave with a light curve rather than a proper harvesting scythe. While Ruby had considered sharpening one of the scythes they had at home, even sharpening the usually dull outer edge, Yang had dissuaded her. It would only have roused suspicion from their father, who both of them knew didn’t want his daughters in danger, and besides that would only make it more dangerous to anyone around her as well. So a proper war scythe it was, or at least as proper as a small village blacksmith could make. It would be a real weapon, but it would be sturdy. Life in the country necessitated such things.

As time passed by, more news of attacks filtered up from the village proper. A handful of the people had gone missing, and while they were folk that everyone thought Patch was better off without the entire village was still on edge. More people were walking around with daggers and traveling in groups, Yang noted as she did some early morning shopping, but she could hardly judge. She had her crossbow and hammer with her at all times, though that was more out of habit than anything else. 

As she picked up a small sack of grain and a bushel of apples from a stall in the village center, she looked up when someone said, “Yang, a word.” She looked over curiously to see Coco nearby, her lips set in a thin line and bags under her eyes.

Yang walked over, slinging her sack of grain over her shoulder as she walked. “Hey Coco. Congratulations on the wedding, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Coco said with a tired smile, “I appreciate that. But right now I need your help.”

Yang furrowed her brow and Coco jerked her head away from the market square. The two ducked into a side street nearby and Coco looked around nervously. That made Yang frown. There wasn’t much that could unnerve Coco Adel, and much less that could make her openly worried. She was by far the most levelheaded person that Yang had ever met, as unflappable as a statue and twice as tough. “Coco, what is it?” she asked quietly and Coco snapped back to look at her as though startled.

“The attack. The bodies in particular,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at the market square. Satisfied that no one was nearby she continued, “I don’t know how to describe it, but...it’s horrific.”

“What is it?” Yang asked slowly, almost unwilling to hear the answer. A cold fear had started to seep into her body that had nothing to do with the fall chill. 

“They were drained.” 

“Drained?”

“Dry, like jerky. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’d say it was blood loss, but it’s more like they were out in the sun for days. No blood at the scenes of the attacks either,” Coco said softly and Yang’s frown deepened. “I thought maybe you might’ve seen something like that in your travels.”

“Never,” Yang said and Coco’s face fell. Yang’s mind was already pouring over this new revelation, and an idea was forming, an idea that she knew Coco would never believe. “I wish I could help. If you need a hand on patrol, just give me a shout.” Coco sighed, running a hand through her hair, then nodded slowly.

“Yeah, of course. Thanks, Yang. Sorry to bother you.” Yang smiled softly and put a comforting hand on Coco’s shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze. 

“It’s no bother. If I see anything out of the ordinary, I’ll let you know,” she said and Coco sagged against the wall in relief.

“That’s...that’s good. You and the family are safe?” she asked and Yang nodded.

“We are. We’re staying inside once night falls and locking the doors. Dad started wedging a chair under the back door. That lock needs replacing, but he never thought it would matter.”

“Make sure it gets fixed,” Coco said sternly, a glint of relief in her eye to be able to do her job with a modicum of control, “I’m telling everyone and the mayor is going to put out a declaration soon.” With that she stepped towards the end fo the side street and murmured, “Be safe, Yang.”

Yang nodded with a soft smile and then Coco walked off to talk to someone else. Yang shouldered her goods once more, and sighed, making a note to talk to the locksmith before she hiked back home. 

That evening, while Ruby and Tai were busy reading near the fire, Yang and Summer were sitting at the dinner table, whispering conspiratorially. 

“But what do  _ you _ think it is, Yang?”

Yang sighed and twirled her hair in thought, then said, “I don’t know, mom. But it sounds like one of those bat creatures you always told us about.”

“A vampire?” Summer breathed out, concern wafting across the table on her voice and infecting Yang’s heart with a deep seated worry that she couldn’t shake.

“I think so…” Yang murmured, “But that’s impossible, right? They don’t exist.” She looked into her mother’s eyes hoping for comfort only to find fear and worry instead. “Right?”

“Yang…” Summer said softly, “I don’t think you should rule it out.” Yang let out a long breath and nodded slowly, lips set in a thin line and her expression carefully neutral. If she let even one hint of fear show, even a slight glimpse of the terror she felt spreading through her body like a cold flame, she might run and never come back. A vampire wasn’t just something you fought, it was something that preyed on humans like cattle. 

Yang took a long breath and steeled her heart, determination flooding into her gaze and her heart as she relied on years of instinct, drilled into her from running with Raven and the Branwen Company. “So how do I kill it?” 

A faraway gleam entered Summer’s eye and she began to explain, the details spilling out of her mouth and into Yang’s memory like water into a field of wheat. Soon, a plan was made, preparations were set in place. Yang Xiao Long had never been a vampire hunter, but, as her mother was fond of saying, there was a first time for everything. 

Yang tightened the grip on her crossbow, silver tipped bolt already loaded. She snuck down the alleyway, towards the darkest part of town, where she knew her prey would be waiting. Patch had suffered for too long at the hands of this tyrant, this monster that swept into the town at night and drank the blood of whomever they pleased, leaving dried out corpses rotting in the street. No one had taken the threat literally when a few of the rougher criminals had wound up missing. That was the way of things, they said, the criminals had probably gone on to bigger towns, Patch no longer providing the depraved entertainment they craved. It wasn’t until the mayor had vanished overnight that panic set in. The hastily elected acting mayor had ordered everyone to stay inside and Coco Adel had formed a militia to stop whatever plague had struck their town, but to no avail. The monster kept coming and people kept disappearing. Eventually the militia had dispersed and every kept to their homes, hoping the night would pass them by uneventfully.

Now, after weeks of research and tracking, Yang was certain she was closing in on the creature. It was a vampire, it had to be. There was no other creature in the world that could be so dangerous and yet unseen. So Yang had set to training, perfecting her shooting and silvering the tips of her bolts with the aid of her sister. Tai had called it a waste of silver, only to quiet down after a glare from Summer. If the town couldn't stop the monster, then Yang would have to do it herself. She had prepared for its superior strength, speed, agility, the mystical powers that vampires were said to possess. All she needed was one good shot to the heart, and that would be the end of it.

She was in luck, judging by the sounds of wet slurping and feeble struggling. Yang took a deep breath at the end of the darkest alley in town, usually a hideout for criminals and lowlives, but now the home of something much worse. She let out a long breath and whirled around the corner, snarling as she gripped her crossbow, ready to fire. 

Yang had expected a gigantic monster with massive leathery wings and horns of fire, fangs the length of her finger and a lashing tail. She had expected a monstrosity that deserved nothing but death. Instead, what she found made her pause, even as her instincts screamed at her to shoot. Yang had never expected the lithe young woman with black hair and cat ears, amber eyes glancing over lazily at Yang as she suckled at a man’s neck, blood dripping down her neck in a rhythmic one...two...three... The vampire, for that was what she was, dropped the man, who collapsed to the ground in a heap. Yang snarled again and forced herself to fire, the bolt sailing towards the vampire’s chest with lethal intent. The vampire didn’t even flinch, one hand snapping up and catching the bolt between two fingers. She lifted it to her eye and studied it, her lips curling in disgust and revealing a pair of vicious fangs. 

“Silver tipped,” the woman drawled, “You’re smarter than the rest.” Yang was already loading another bolt, pulling the string back on her crossbow and placing the bolt in place. As she raised her crossbow to fire, the vampire was suddenly in front of her, barely half a foot away. Yang yelped and tried to turn to fire, but the vampire grabbed her crossbow and wrenched it out of her hand without so much as a grunt of effort. Immediately Yang leapt back and drew her hammer, also tipped with silver and got ready to fight. The vampire sighed and shook her head, as though annoyed. “Why does everything think they can fight me hand to hand?”

“It’s been silvered,” Yang growled, “I can kill you with this.”

“And I can tear a house down with one hand and my eyes closed,” the vampire said bluntly and Yang felt her blood run cold, “Trust me, you won’t win that fight. More skilled hunters than you have tried.” 

The vampire took a step forward and Yang swiped at her. Immediately the vampire caught her arm and tweaked it lightly, making Yang cry out in pain, the hammer falling from her grip. With another cry she was pushed up against the wall and suddenly the vampire pressed herself flush against her, their noses practically touching, their eyes inches apart. Yang felt all her bravery, her courage, her training, slip away as the vampire’s eyes flicked down to her neck, accompanied by an appreciative smile. “Please,” Yang whimpered, “Don’t kill me.” 

“Kill you?” the vampire said slowly, “No, not you. There’s others who are more deserving of my time.”

“Like the mayor? Like the baker down the road? The banker?” Yang said, listing of the names and occupations of the victims in a nearly incoherent babble. The vampire nodded slowly with each name, her expression changing to a mixture of exasperation and amusement as she listened to Yang speak. 

“Why them?” the vampire murmured as Yang finished, and Yang nodded with a quick, jerky motion. “The mayor has a history of defending men who assault women. The baker was poisoning his family to collect on the inheritance he thought himself owed. The banker’s family,” the vampire spat the word ‘banker’ like it was poisoned, “They’re doing much better now that he’s gone.” 

Yang could only stare at the vampire in disbelief. She’d heard about the mayor’s unfair involvement in assault cases, knew about the baker’s ailing family, had never liked the banker, but none of it had seemed like a cause for this kind of brutal death. As though sensing her question, the vampire let out a sigh and said,

“You’re wondering what gives me the right to be the executioner.” Yang nodded slowly. “Nobody did but me,” the vampire said flatly, “I made the decision myself. I know what it’s like to be abused, to be treated like property.” For a moment there was a faraway look in the vampire’s eyes and Yang felt her heart soften just a hair, immediately hardening her defenses again. “No one,” the vampire continued, “No one should ever have to endure that. You think that I’m a monster, right?” Yang nodded again and the vampire sighed, looking away. The break in eye contact was all that Yang needed to blurt out,

“You’re a vampire, for the sake of the gods. Who could abuse  _ you _ ?” 

The vampire snapped her gaze back to Yang and the blonde shrunk back against the wall as though to slip through it and escape, but the wall didn’t give. Yang had expected a glare, a snarl from the vampire, but instead there was only a tired look of resignation in her eyes. “Nobody’s born a vampire. I got turned by someone I thought I loved. It was just power, control. He wanted me as a pawn. The moment I could break free, I did and I dedicated myself to making sure no one had to go through that kind of hell ever again. I don’t expect you to understand and I don’t expect you to care either, but trust me, hunter. There are monsters that go bump in the night, and most of them are far more human than you would think. I’m just the one who bumps back.” 

With that the vampire pushed away and Yang slumped against the wall in disbelief. The vampire rolled her neck and glanced up at the sky, then nodded with satisfaction. As she turned to leave, Yang yelled out, “Most of them?” 

The vampire froze in the alley, turning back with a sly smile, “I knew you were a smart one. There’s a lot of vampires out there, you know. You might want to save your strength for fighting them, my heart tells me a few are on the way. They won’t be so picky when choosing a meal.” 

“You’ve fought them?” Yang asked and the vampire nodded curtly. “Teach me.”

“Excuse me?” the vampire said with an amused smile, “You were trying to shoot me five minutes ago, now you want my help?”

“I don’t know how to fight vampires, but you are one. You must know how to defeat them,” Yang snapped, mustering what courage she still had, “I need a teacher. Nobody in town even thinks vampires exist, they can’t help me.”

“And stories can only do so much, obviously,” the vampire mused, then gestured at Yang’s discarded crossbow. She met Yang’s eyes and narrowed her own, the amber flooding with red, tinging the depths a haunting orange, but then Yang blinked and it was gone. “You won’t be much good even if I train you.”

“Try me,” Yang said, standing up to her full height and the vampire laughed, a long loud sound that somehow, even with the nightmarish situation she was in Yang still found undeniably attractive.

“It’d be easier if I turned you, made you one of us,” the vampire said softly, making Yang take a step back in horror, “But obviously that won’t happen, so we’ll work with what we have.” The vampire smiled, revealing those fangs once more and said, “Meet me here in two days, and we’ll get started.”

“Why not now?” Yang asked and the vampire rolled her eyes.

“I just fed, I need time to digest and work the blood into my system properly.” Her smile grew slightly and she drawled, “I bet the books never mentioned that part, did they?”

“Why not tell me where you live, so I can meet you there?” Yang asked, and the vampire rolled her eyes.

“So you can organize a mob and try to kill me? I’m dead, not stupid.” 

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Why should I trust you?” the vampire asked and Yang raised an eyebrow imperiously.

“For the same reason I’m trusting you not to drink me dry.”

The vampire pursed her lips in thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Fair enough. Two days, back here.”

The vampire's eyes glowed orange once more and Yang snatched up her hammer and crossbow, then turned to confront the vampire again, but she was gone. In her place was a small card that Yang picked up with a furrowed brow. The handwriting on it was excellent, obviously from someone well trained in the finer things in life, but that didn’t stop Yang from sighing and shoving into her pouch. “Call me Blake,” Yang read as she started walking home, “Who does she think she is?” The question had no answer, either from Yang or the empty streets around her. Then again, she mused, in two days she would get the chance to ask. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yes, I folded in Silver Tipped for Blake and Yang's first meeting.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	5. Day Five-Countryside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang begins her training with Blake and finds that she may have more than just professional feelings for her new teacher.

Two days had passed and Yang had spent every moment of them worrying. What exactly had she agreed to do? The vampire had said in no uncertain terms that it needed time to digest the blood it had drunk, would that mean it was ready to feed again tonight? Did that mean that Yang had unwittingly agreed to become the vampire’s next meal? Was that how they hunted, luring in unsuspecting people with promises of being a mentor only to strike once their guard was down? 

Yang was currently sulking in the loft with a mug of hot chocolate, staring at the wall and trying to figure out her plan. Clearly walking in like she was greeting a friend was out of the question, it would be foolish to leave herself so exposed. No, she needed something else, something more tangible to hold onto. IF the vampire was planning to betray her, Yang would rather be in a position where she could at least fire off a few bolts before being overwhelmed. She frowned and took a long sip of her chocolate, grumbling to herself as she considered her options. There were certainly places to hide in that alleyway, turned over carts and forgotten shipments of food and supplies for businesses that had gone under. 

That was what she would do, Yang decided. She would hide out as the sun went down and wait. IF the vampire was planning to attack, Yang would have the drop on them. As the sun started to set, Yang clambered down the ladder to find her mother waiting at the dinner table, her face gaunt with worry. “Mom?” Yang asked softly and Summer looked up as though seeing her for the first time. 

“Oh. Hello Yang,” she said softly, “I was...thinking.” Summer watched her daughter for a moment, how she slid her hammer into its loop on her hip and shouldered her crossbow, grabbing an extra jacket for the chill that night. “You’re going hunting again, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Yang murmured, approaching her mother and smiling gently at her, “I know where they’ll be tonight. With luck this will all be over soon.” That was, after all, the second part of her plan. Once Yang knew how to fight vampires effectively it would be child’s play to kill the one who stalked Patch. Summer sighed and gently grabbed one of Yang’s hands, clasping it between both of her own. “I’ll be safe,” Yang said softly and Summer nodded.

“I know. I’m just worried that it won’t be enough.” She looked up with such pain, such horrendous desperation in her eyes that Yang almost collapsed to her knees and wept. “Can’t you take Ruby with you? Or Tai? Someone to watch your back?”

“Mom, you know I’d never be able to hunt effectively with them around,” Yang said, giving her mother’s a reassuring squeeze, “Besides, if anything happened to them I’d never forgive myself.”

“And if anything happened to  _ you _ -Oh, Yang, I’m so sorry. I should never have told you what it was.”

“Hey,” Yang said, kneeling next to Summer and putting a hand on her shoulder, “I’ll be fine. I have a plan.” It was strange, she thought, that she was comforting her mother. For so long she had been the one receiving comfort from Summer, to suddenly have those roles switched was like having her world turned upside down. Still, when Summer smiled weakly but with a fierce determination, Yang felt her heart soften slightly. They had to be there for each other now, not just one relying on the other entirely. 

“What is it that Raven says?” Summer wondered, almost too quietly to hear, “Plans never survive contact with the enemy?”

“Yeah, well,” Yang said, forcing determination into her voice, “I’ve been working with Raven for a while now. I know how to plan like she does, I already have three back up plans and four escape routes.” In truth, Yang knew that if her first plan failed she wouldn’t have time to put another into action before the vampire was on her. Summer knew it too, from the sad look of resignation in her eyes, but she still nodded and said,

“Okay. Go get them, my little dragon.” Yang nodded and leaned forward, gently bumping their foreheads together like they had when Yang was just a girl. That seemed to settle Summer ever so slightly, enough for Yang to slip her hand out of her grip and head for the door. With one last look over her shoulder, with a confidence that was only a little forced now, Yang opened the door and headed for town. It was good that Ruby and Tai were busy in Tai’s woodworking shop; if they had come to ask Yang what she was doing or to stop her, she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to push onwards. 

The town was cold and empty, the streets abandoned, and the shop windows empty, glumly reflecting the sun as it dipped below the horizon. That was good, Yang thought, all the easier for her stay hidden if there were no passerby to call her out. She found a cart at the end of the alley that provided her a bit of cover and a vantage point of the rest of the alley. She mounted her crossbow on the cart gently, silver tipped bolt at the ready, and settled in to wait.

Time passed. The sun vanished behind her and the shattered moon replaced it, spinning by overhead surrounded by a thousand thousand pinpoints of light. Yang shifted from a crouched position to her knees, then back again as her muscles started to stiffen up. The cold pierced through even her thick jacket, and Yang cursed that she had forgotten to grab her furs on the way into town. More time passed. The moon swept by overhead and the constellations followed. Yang pursed her lips in thought, for a moment, listening intently, then went back to her vigil. The moon began to flirt with the horizon.

Yang sighed and ran a hand through her hair. This was ridiculous. Two days, the vampire had said. She was here, waiting, watching, searching for any sign of the vampire but there was none. It was time to go home. She was tired, her muscles barely responding as she stood, stretching into chill fall air. It would be good to get home and relax, she could say she was out drinking if her father asked. 

“So who are we looking for?” someone asked and Yang yelped, leaping away and snatching up her hammer, swinging wildly. Her hammer smashed into the stone wall of the alley, sparking and breaking off a chunk of stone, and sailing harmless by the piercing amber eyes of the vampire. She was standing in the alley behind the cart, not a foot away from Yang when she had spoken. “Good reflexes. You’re better prepared than I thought.” 

Yang snarled and settled into a fighting stance, hammer at the ready. “Vampire.”

“Hunter. I thought I gave you a note the other night, unless you're one of those mercenaries who can’t read,” the vampire drawled, her cat ears flicking with amusement.

“I can read,  _ Blake _ ,” Yang snapped and the vampire smiled, revealing her fangs for just a moment. 

“Excellent. Then we can continue.” Blake turned and walked away, reaching the end of the alley before turning to look at Yang, who was still standing at the ready. “Well come one. Don’t you want to learn how to hunt vampires?” Yang shoved her hammer back into its loop and picked up her crossbow from where it had fallen, slinging it over her shoulder.

“I know how to hunt vampires,” she growled as she approached Blake, who rolled her eyes.

“Yes, obviously. I could tell by how easy it was to sneak up on you.” With that she walked away, waving for Yang to follow her. Yang fell into step with her and the two began to walk out of town, towards the countryside. 

There was a long moment of silence before Yang asked, “So...where do we begin?”

“We begin by having you relearn everything you know about vampire hunting. It’s not as straightforward as the tales would have you believe,” Blake said, nodding politely at Yang, “Go on, list all the ways you can kill a vampire.”

“Silver tipped weapon to the heart,” Yang said and Blake nodded.

“Well done, you know the most obvious. What else?”

“Holy water,” Yang said.

“From which god?” Blake asked, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. Yang scowled and continued,

“Garlic,” which made Blake furrow her brow in confusion.

“Why would I be killed by a plant?”

Yang let out an exasperated huff and said, “Decapitation.

“Well, who doesn’t that kill?” Blake said with a shrug, her cat ears swiveling to give Yang her full attention. “Anything else?” Yang wracked her brain to find an answer only to come up blank. She had listed everything she knew, and only half of it had been effective. Blake nodded curtly and said, “Ripping out the heart, silver injected into the bloodstream, and being crushed are also effective strategies,” she gave Yang a once over and snorted, “But I’m not sure they’ll be effective for you. The crossbow is probably your best bet.”

And so they walked, Blake quickly disproving everything that Yang thought she knew about vampires, finding themselves deep in the countryside around Patch. Now they were out of town and on a small path into the woods, winding along near a stream which led to a pond that Yang and Ruby had loved to swim in as children. Yang scowled at the vampire and grumbled, “What’s the point of you then? I already know that my crossbow can do the job.” Blake was silent for a while until the pair entered a clearing. A small shack was in the center with a chimney pumping out smoke as they approached. Yang made a note of the place in case she needed to find it again, possibly with an angry mob at her back. In all her years as a mercenary, Yang had come to respect the strength of an angry group of peasants armed with sticks. 

Blake sighed happily and opened the door inside. Immediately Yang leapt back as they were both face to face with a massive black cat, easily the size of a pony and with glowing yellow eyes. The beast bared its teeth and snarled, revealing teeth the size of roofing nails. Yang snapped her crossbow up, ready to defend herself when Blake plucked the bolt from her crossbow and shot her a glare. “Don’t be rude. This is my friend.”

“Well your friend looks like she wants to eat me,” Yang snapped, standing up as one hadn drifted to her hammer. Blake snorted and tossed the bolt back to Yang.

“So do I, but we can both restrain ourselves if you can stop reaching for your weapons every time a branch breaks.” Yang snarled again, but let her hand fall to her side. Fighting Blake alone was suicide, with this giant cat in the mix it would be like trying to chop down a tree with a marshmallow. “This is Shroud,” Blake said proudly, patting the cat on the side, “I’ve been looking after her family for generations.” She gestured for Yang to enter and Shroud slunk away into the shack, curling up by the fire. The inside of the shack was simple, a bed, a table, a small bookshelf, and the fireplace. On top of the bookshelf was a small book, bound in black leather with golden script that Yang couldn’t read. Blake walked inside and let out another sigh of relief, scratching Shroud on the head as she went by. The giant cat let out what might have been called a purr, but it was really more growling in a friendly manner. As she passed the bookshelf, she tucked the black book under her arm protectively, keeping it close as Yang walked in. 

Yang followed her inside, giving Shroud as big a berth as she could, and gave the place a once over. “You live here?”

“Sometimes,” Blake said with a shrug, “I have a handful of places like this around Patch. Where did you think I lived, a cave?” she asked, turning to Yang with an amused expression. 

“I...it fit the stories,” Yang mumbled and Blake smirked in a way that made Yang’s heart flutter. It was like seeing one of those pretty librarians or barmaids in the city, but this was entirely different. This was a vampire and so Yang pushed the feeling aside as quickly as she could. 

“I’m no story, miss…” Blake trailed off meaningfully and Yang stood up a a bit straighter.

“Xiao Long. Yang Xiao Long.”

“Miss Xiao Long,” Blake said with a slow nod. “As per your earlier question, I agreed to teach you how to  _ hunt _ vampires not how to  _ kill  _ them. Those are two very different things and one always precedes the other. We’ll need to figure out a way for you to spend a requisite amount of time here to learn, preferably six hours a day.”

“I can’t go out every night,” Yang said, “My parents would get suspicious.”

“Who said it had to be at night? I’m perfectly fine teaching you during the day,” Blake said and Yang furrowed her brow.

“But the stories-” She was cut off by that infuriatingly amused smirk once more and grumbled, “Right.” Blake nodded in satisfaction and Yang said, “I can say that I found someone to apprentice under.”

“I know quite a bit about calligraphy, though I’m not sure Patch would see that as work,” Blake said and Yang nodded, twirling her hair in thought.

“But then my father would expect me to bring in money. I could say that you’re a new friend of mine, but then they’d want to meet you.”

“And you don’t feel comfortable introducing me to your family.”

“Exactly. 

“I understand,” Blake said with a shrug, “What about a secret lover?”

“During the middle of the day?” Yang asked and Blake nodded.

“Why not? It would explain your absence and the length of time. Besides, your parents would have to be able to call you on it for me to come meet them and the whole point is that I’d be secret. It’s not a perfect cover, but it might work.”

Yang sighed and ran her hand through her hair, leaning against the wall. “It’s not both my parents, just my father. My mother knows you exist.” Blake frowned slightly and Yang had to stop herself from reaching for her hammer then and there.

“I see,” Blake said softly, then hummed in thought, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. So, secret lovers?”

“I can keep a secret if you can,” Yang said and Blake rolled her eyes.

“My very existence is a secret. I can pretend to be your lover to keep people off your back.” Yang nodded and opened her mouth to speak when a yawn replaced it. Blake smiled softly, far softer than Yang would’ve thought possible from a blood sucking monster. “You must be tired,” Blake murmured, “You can find your way home?”

“I know these woods like the back of my hand, I grew up here,” Yang said and Blake nodded curtly in response. 

“Return tomorrow, after noon,” Blake said, “And do try to avoid bringing any mobs with you.”

Yang scowled again and folded her arms across her chest, snarling, “I will, for now. If these other vampires don’t show up-”

“You’ll kill me,” Blake said bluntly and Yang balked. “I know. Go get some rest, we’ll start your training tomorrow.” With that, she shooed Yang out the door and closed it behind her, locking it. Yang sighed and kicked the dirt once, then began to hike back home. This was going to be an interesting next couple of days. 

Yang arrived at the shack with all her gear the next day, just as the sun was passing its zenith, only to pause in confusion at what she saw. Shroud was curled up on the outskirts of the clearing and Blake was busy hauling her furniture outside. Rather, hauling was what Yang would have had to do, Blake was single handedly carrying her entire bookcase, table, and chairs. Yang assumed the only reason she hadn’t grabbed everything was because she had only two hands.

“Uh, afternoon,” Yang said, and Blake looked up, letting out a small grunt of effort as she placed down all her things. “You moving house?”

“No, not yet,” Blake said, meticulously placing everything around the clearing in a facsimile of a large living room.

“Then what’s all this for?” Yang asked, watching as Blake put her bookcase in one spot, frowned, and moved it six inches to the left. With a nod of satisfaction, Blake turned to her and put her hands on her hips.

“It’s for your training, obviously. I wouldn’t just empty out my house for no reason.”

“Obviously,” Yang huffed with a roll of her eyes, “Can we get started?”

“Patience,” Blake chided her and Yang folded her arms across her chest, “Let me grab a few more things and we can start your training.” Yang sighed and walked up to the chair Blake had placed, leaning her crossbow against it before slumping into it. Blake walked back into the house and returned a moment later, a solid metal chest resting on her shoulder as she finished cleaning out her house. She set it down with a heavy thud that Yang could feel across the clearing and said, “There we are. Now, for your training. I need you to hunt a deer for me.”

Yang had been in the middle of perking up with interest at the idea of training, only to pause and slump back down. “Excuse me?”

“A deer,” Blake said, “I need you to hunt one down.”

“Why?” Yang asked, folding her arms across her chest and Blake sighed.

“Because I need to know if you can hunt at all before you learn to hunt vampires, obviously.”

Yang glared at the vampire for a moment, which Blake met with an amicable smile. “I’m not your errand girl. Go to the market like everyone else if you want venison.” That made Blake sigh and leaned lightly on the bookshelf she had brought outside. 

“It’s not about eating venison, it’s about showing me you can track something,” Blake said slowly, as though to an idiot, “If you can’t track a deer, you can’t track a vampire. It’s the principle of the thing.” The two women glared at each other for a long while until Blake sighed and said, “Listen, I have things to do. I’m sure you do too. We can spend all day having a staring contest, which I’ll win, or you can start tracking a deer before it gets too dark to see.”

“What does this has to do with-”

“It’s the principle of it,” Blake said firmly and Yang sighed, putting her head in her hands. This was ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, but if it got her the knowledge she needed then it would have to be done. She had done more ridiculous things for Raven, and plenty that she wasn’t proud of. One deer wouldn’t be the end of the world.

“Fine,” she said as she stood, snatching up her crossbow, “Fine, I’ll get you a deer. But I’m taking it home with me.”

“By all means,” Blake said, waving Yang away, “I’ll be here when you get back.”

“I thought you had things to do?” Yang asked and Blake had turned around, kneeling in front of her bookshelf.

“I do,” she said as she perused the titles, letting out a small “Aha!” when she found the book she wanted, one covered in thick red leather and black script. “I can do them all from right here. Now go on.” Yang rolled her eyes and started off into the woods, heading towards the deeper parts of the forest. Her father had never bothered to teach them to hunt, they had crops they grew and earned enough between his woodworking and Summer’s job as a private tutor to buy most of their food, but Raven had been a different story. Every day a team went out to hunt fresh game, and Yang had quickly gained a reputation for catching the largest bucks and fastest birds. Finding a deer on Patch, an island that she could walk across in half a day, would be child’s play compared to finding one in the Emerald Forest. 

Just as she had suspected, finding a deer was hardly a challenge. By the time she lugged the deer back to Blake’s shack, the sun was beginning to set and Yang was exhausted. Being able to walk across the entire island in half a day was pointless if you were carrying a deer on your shoulders. 

As she approached the clearing, Yang paused even as her back screamed at her to drop the deer. Blake was sitting in the middle of the clearing, quietly reading the black leather book. She looked so calm, so serene and at peace, that Yang couldn’t help the small smile that spread across her face as she watched her. She let out a soft sigh as Blake turned a page, and Blake snapped her head to Yang, staring at her like a spooked horse. 

“Uh,” Yang said with a sheepish smile, “Hi. I got the deer.” Blake closed her book lightly, almost reverently, and tucked it onto the bookshelf. Yang looked at it curiously for a moment, then, “What’s in the book?”

“Nothing,” Blake said, far too quickly for it to really be nothing, “and I would appreciate it if you didn’t ask again.” Yang furrowed her brow in confusion, but nodded nonetheless. Blake cleared her throat and said, “Well, you clearly know how to track. Good job today.”

“Thanks,” Yang said with a small rush of pride when Blake smiled up at her softly. “Was there anything else, or…”

“No, you’re free to go,” Blake said and Yang sighed.

“You just wanted me gone so you could get your work done, right?”

An offended look crossed Blake’s face and she said, “Of course not. It just happened to coincide.” 

Yang rolled her eyes with a small smirk and drawled, “Right,” drawing out the word as long as she could. Blake huffed softly but Yang saw a small smile playing at her lips and smiled herself at the sight of it, her heart fluttering in her chest. The moment was gone as quickly as it had come and Yang smiled awkwardly, hoping that she wasn’t blushing as much as the rising heat in her cheeks would indicate. “Well, uh, if there’s nothing else you need should I go?”

Blake pursed her lip in thought and nodded slowly. “Yes, I think you should. And don’t worry about me feeding, I can wait a while.” That brought the reality crashing back down and Yang’s cheeks felt cold once more. Blake was a vampire, not a pretty city girl. She couldn’t fall for her, it was reprehensible. Now that she had her head back on straight, Yang found the very idea of falling for Blake repulsive, unnatural, strangely attractive in a macabre sort of way.

Wait.

That wasn’t what she’d meant to think, but the more she watched Blake, the more she saw how, underneath the blood sucking monstrosity that she was, she was really quite beautiful. She was also feisty, which Yang loved on principle. Yang shook her head, pushing the thoughts aside. She was here to learn how to hunt vampires, not become some tragic lover of a creature of the night. So, with that thought in mind, she hiked the deer higher on her shoulders and started off towards home.

“Good night, Yang,” Blake called out and Yang turned, trying to stop her heart from beating faster at the sight of the smirk on Blake’s face.

“Night,” she said, managing to speak without stuttering. As she turned, she was glad that Blake couldn’t see passed the deer or she might have seen her face flush red with embarrassment both at the smirk and how it was making her feel, her heart doing acrobatics. What in the hells was happening to her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summer was one of the harder characters to place in this AU, but I like how she's shaping up so far.   
> Hope you enjoyed!   
> Comments are always appreciated!


	6. Day Six-Rage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang continues her training with Blake, learning everything she can about how to effectively hunt vampires. The Bees come up with a cover story for their hunts.

Four weeks later Yang was doing pushups outside of Blake’s shack, Blake’s feet resting on her back while she read a history of Vale while Shroud slept in the sun nearby. They had spent the intervening time since their first training session going over the basics of vampire lore and effective tactics, many of which revolved around ambush and finding their target before the vampire knew a hunter was in town. Blake had also shown her the nature of vampires appearing in mirrors. Fancier ones, with silver backing, wouldn’t show a vampire as silver was naturally dangerous to vampires, something that Blake hoped science would explain in the future. Other ones, brass, or copper, would show a vampire just fine as the metal was no more dangerous to them than a leaf was to Yang. Therefore it was imperative that Yang acquire a silver backed mirror as quickly as possible. That, however, would require money which was something that Yang sorely lacked. Her funds from being a mercenary were still secure, but not nearly enough to afford the kind of mirror she needed to find vampires.

“So,” she grunted as she pushed herself back up, “You wouldn’t happen to have any silver backed mirrors, would you?”

“No, of course not. What’s the point?” Blake asked without looking up from her book. Yang grunted again as she continued her pushups, reaching Blake’s specified fifty. It was easy for her, of course, she had been doing push ups since she knew what they were and fifty was only a few more than what Yang did daily anyway. As she pushed herself up to her knees, Blake pulling her legs back and crossing one over the other, Yang sighed and wiped the sweat off her brow.

“So,” she said, grabbing Blake’s attention, “What do I learn how to fight a vampire?”

“You already know,” Blake said, her ears swiveled to face Yang so that she didn’t have to stop reading.

“Right, but what if I mess up the ambush?” Yang asked and this time Blake paused in her reading, pursing her lips in thought. After a moment, she shrugged and said,

“I suggest picking a god and praying.” 

Yang sighed and shook her head in exasperation, grumbling, “I’m not gonna take it lying down. I need to know something.”

“You’re also not going to give this up, are you?” Blake asked and Yang snorted.

“Not a chance.”

Blake hummed in thought, then snapped her book closed and stood up. “Very well, first lesson: A vampire is always going to underestimate you.” Yang raised an eyebrow and flexed one enormous bicep and Blake rolled her eyes, though a small smile played at her lips at the sight. Yang might have called it nervous if Blake wasn’t so cool headed all the time. “You could be the strongest woman in the world, and it wouldn’t matter. Fighting a vampire blow for blow is pointless. You need to use their confidence against them.” Yang furrowed her brow in thought, turning the information over in her mind for a moment before nodding slowly. When she focused back on Blake, she was opening the door to her shack and gestured inside.

Yang stepped in after her, the shack empty and dusty from the lack of use. Apparently Blake had been staying at one of her other hideouts in the meantime, the same place that Shroud was staying right now. “Shouldn’t we practice fighting outside?” Yang asked and Blake nodded, going around to each window and closing the curtains, tying them off. Soon the only light in the room came from the door.

“We should, but this is more important. A human vampire can see in the dark nearly as well as a normal human can at dusk, in shades of grey. A Faunus vampire on the other hand,” she wiggled her ears for emphasis, “can see perfectly well, like the sun had never set.”

“Okay, and what’s that mean for me?” Yang asked and Blake smiled grimly.

“It means you need to learn how to fight without being able to see.” She grabbed the door and prepared to close it, only for Yang to ask,

“Couldn’t I just close my eyes?”

“No cheating,” Blake said, slamming the door closed. Immediately the room was thrust into total darkness, and Yang couldn’t even see her own hand in front of her face. She slipped into a fighting stance and listened as best she could, when suddenly Blake’s foot slid across the floor to her right. Yang lashed out with a punch, only to be sent flying when Blake shoved her from the opposite side. Yang had the wind knocked out of her when she hit the wall and collapsed to the ground, just in time for Blake to throw open the door.

“Fuck,” Yang choked out, struggling to her feet, “That’s not possible.”

“Then make it possible,” Blake said flatly, “Use your other senses to paint a picture. It won’t be perfect and you certainly won’t be as effective as with your eyes open, but you need to figure it out. No vampire worth their salt attacks a hunter in the light.”

Yang sighed and stretched, feeling a bruise beginning to spread across her side from where Blake had shoved her, and one on her back from where she had hit the wall. Blake’s neutral expression softened as she saw Yang wince at the pain and she murmured,

“We can practice outside first, if you like.”

Yang twirled her hair in thought, then shook her head firmly. “No. Shut the door, we’re doing this again.” Blake’s smile was almost a snarl of amusement as she slammed the door shut and the room was once again thrust into darkness.

Within two weeks, Yang could almost avoid being thrown across the room in the dark. She had started to figure out Blake’s movements based on the sound of her feet in the darkness, the whistle of the wind around her hand. She had also collected quite a few bruises, but Blake had relented in her force after the first two days, slowing her attacks so as to lightly tap Yang instead of hurling her around the shack. 

Her stealth training wasn’t going much better, as Yang had never been one for sneaking around. She preferred upfront confrontation, flying at her opponent with her hammer raised and a battle cry on her lips, to creeping up on them from afar. Still, it was her best chance at actually slaying a vampire and that was what she needed most, just a chance.

But still she trained and she practiced, working as hard under Blake’s tutelage as she ever had doing chores on the farm or working as a mercenary with Raven. Six hours became eight, then ten hours a day, with small breaks in between. After that it was back to the farm to eat dinner or do chores in the morning, getting to know the horses or stay with her family.

Ruby had caught on first that something was off about Yang’s behaviour and the notice had spread quickly through her family. Tai had suspected drinking until Yang had come back with sloppy lipstick marks that she’d drawn on her cheek on the way back from training, and that had seemed to satisfy him and Ruby, even if Ruby wanted to meet her secret lover more each day. Summer, on the other hand, knew something was off. She didn’t know what, exactly, but every time Yang came back home with a lipstick stain or her shirt askew she narrowed her eyes. It hurt every time Yang had to lie to her family, twisted her heart, gripped her soul in a vice and tore her in two every time she had to laugh and say that she definitely hadn’t been off with someone special. Every night she woke up feeling like she wanted to collapse and every day she felt sick, laughing and saying that of course she wasn’t spending her days with a pretty girl in the village.

Of course, she  _ was _ spending her day with a pretty girl, a fact that Yang was becoming infinitely more aware of as time went on, but there was no time for kissing or anything that came from that. This was the time to train. Blake had said that vampires were coming, and soon. Yang had no reason to doubt her, not yet. 

“So,” Yang said as she took a break from training, in this case a jog through the forest with Blake to get her endurance up, “These vampires that are on the way. Who are they?”

Blake sighed and settled into her seat, showing neither teh sweat nor the heavy breathing that Yang was putting up with. It was unnerving in its own way, that Blake could be so physically active and show no signs of it, but Yang was quickly becoming used to such things. “Rogue vampires, looking for a place to settle. Most vampires like to stake out a territory to feed upon, a particular neighborhood or town. Patch is nice and isolated, a clever vampire could get away with feeding here for months before being found out, years even.”

“So like you?” Yang asked and Blake rolled her eyes. 

“If I felt like acting like other vampires. But I have my code, and I keep to it. Injustice needs to be rooted out at the source. I do what I can.”

Yang considered this for a moment, then shrugged. “Fair enough. Anyone we should be on the lookout for?”

“Yes,” Blake said softly, her gaze suddenly very far away indeed, “A small pack of vampires that likes to travel together. They call themselves the White Fang.”

“I thought the White Fang was a Faunus independence movement?” Yang asked, furrowing her brow in confusion. Blake nodded slowly and murmured,

“It was, a long time ago. They wanted more power, a way to make humanity pay. Some of the more extreme members found an ancient vampire lurking in the hidden places of the world.” Blake’s voice was a whisper, nearly indecipherable from the very wind in the trees, “She turned their leader, and he turned the rest. That’s how it works, you know. The one who turns you gains control over you.”

“But you’re free?” Yang asked and Blake nodded again.

“The one who turned me was injured in a fight with another vampire pack. A drop of his blood happened to land on my tongue. That’s all it takes to break the control, a single drop. I was free,” Blake said, her hand clenching and unclenching into a fist, “but I knew they’d follow me.” She glanced up at Yang, saw the worry etched into her expression and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll move off once they show up. I would rather Patch avoid their rage, their vengeance. Entire towns slaughtered. People left massacred in the street, blood flowing until the very rivers turned red. It’s a terrible thing to behold. A terrible thing to be a part of.” Blake shuddered and collapsed in on herself and Yang leaned forward on instinct, placing a comforting hand on her kene. Blake looked up in confusion and shock all at once, and Yang smiled softly at her, giving her knee a reassuring squeeze.

“Thank you, Blake,” she murmured, “If it comes to it, we’ll take them down together.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Blake said quickly, “But thank you.”

There was a long moment of silence, then Yang asked, “So you were a part of it? The White Fang, I mean?”

“Yes, I was. Both when it was a resistance movement and...after.” Blake let out a long low breath and Yang turned this information over in her mind.

“So then that would make you-”

“Three hundred and twenty five years old,” Blake said with a bitter laugh, “You know, it’s rude to ask a lady her age.” 

“I would never seek to offend a lady,” Yang said with a small smirk and Blake rolled her eyes playfully. 

“I’m sure,” Blake said dryly. She stood and Yang stood with her, giving her one last reassuring squeeze, which made Blake smile softly. She met Yang’s eyes and Yang felt her heart soften at the depth of her emotion, her sadness, her loss, and most importantly, the loneliness that pervaded every facet of Blake’s eyes, even motion of her body, every word she spoke. Gods, Yang thought, what she wouldn’t give to take that away from her and make her smile, really smile. But then Blake blinked and turned away, and the moment was gone. “Back to training, Yang. We have a long way to go yet.” Yang nodded and they set off into the next stage of their training that day, which was target practice. This, at least, Yang knew she was good at and Blake was impressed each time when Yang nailed a bullseye. It made Yang almost ludicrously happy when Blake complimented her shooting. 

The next week passed in much the same way with Yang coming into the clearing to find Blake reading from the black leather book, Shroud nearby, and they would train all day. Then it was back home, where Yang’s gut twisted into a tighter knot each day until she was sure she would never be able to speak again. 

Then, one night, as Yang lay away in bed, Ruby snoring softly next to her, guilt weighing heavily on her soul, she heard a small knock on the door. She waited for her father, always a light sleeper, to rouse, but he didn’t. Another knock. Yang grumbled and grabbed her hammer, tucking behind her back as she approached the door. 

She opened it a crack to reveal Blake in the moonlight, her eyes a dull orange and looking much more vibrant than she had the past few days. Yang’s expression shifted into a glare. Blake had fed, and that meant more trouble in town with Coco’s frantic investigation shutting down stores and streets at all hours, but Blake’s stony expression kept her from bringing it up. “What is it?” she hissed and Blake leaned forwards, her fangs flashing in the light of the stars and dull embers in the fireplace.

“There’s another vampire on Patch.”

“What?” Yang whispered as fiercely as she could without shouting, “Where? We need to go find them!”

“Not tonight,” Blake murmured, “Meet me in the square tomorrow evening. They’re young, they’ll rest up tonight and feed tomorrow. Trust me.”

Yang glared at Blake for a long moment, then sighed in exasperation. “Fine. Tomorrow evening in the square.” She glanced up at the loft towards Ruby and then to the back room where her parents slept. “I think tomorrow my family’s going to find out about my girlfriend.”

“Oh, really?” Blake asked with an amused smile and Yang scoffed lightly.

“We have a date tomorrow evening, don’t we?” 

“Oh, of course,” Blake purred in a way that made Yang’s heart do flips and her grip on the door tighten as a familiar heat pooled in her core. “See you then, love.” With that, Blake turned and vanished into the darkness of the night like she had never been there at all. Yang stared out the door for a while, trying to spot her, but it was futile. She sighed and turned, climbing back up to bed. Ruby shifted and turned away, her breaths light and short like she’d been having a nightmare.

Yang smiled softly and stroked a lock of her sister’s hair behind her ears before giving her a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder. “Hey Rubes,” she said softly, “Have good dreams, okay?” Then Yang lay down to bed, and slept. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone cue the training montage!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	7. Day Seven-Overwhelm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake and Yang set off on their first vampire hunt but then face a much bigger challenge: Dinner with Yang's family.

“Who is she?” Ruby squealed leaning on Yang as she scarfed down lunch the next morning. Yang blushed, feeling more than a little embarrassment at being called out for her evening rendezvous with Blake. 

“She’s just somebody that I met in town,” Yang said with a shrug, and Ruby huffed, putting all her weight on Yang and nearly pressing her flat against the table. “I’ll bring her up eventually, calm down.”

“But I wanna meet her,” Ruby whined, “You can’t just have a girlfriend and not bring her to meet the family.”

“She’s not my girlfriend, we just spend a lot of time together,” Yang mumbled through a mouthful of bread. Ruby scoffed and snatched an apple slice off of Yang’s plate, making Yang yelp through her food.

After popping the apple slice in her mouth, Ruby stuck out her tongue at her sister, which Yang returned in kind. They spent a moment making faces at one another before Ruby finished chewing and said, “You sure come home with your shirt undone a lot after spending time with her.”

“Y-yeah,” Yang said, surprised that the fluster was real and the heat that shot through her cheeks making her blush at being called out. “I chop wood for her. It’s hard work.”

“Yang,” Ruby said, leaning on the table and giving Yang a sidelong look that Yang knew meant she knew more than she was letting on. Lying, like staying in once place, wasn’t Ruby’s strong suit. “I know what couples do. I’m not a kid anymore. I don’t like the idea of it, but I know what it is. So...is that what you two are doing?”

“What? No!” Yang exclaimed, her hand flying to her chest in offense, “I would never sleep with someone I haven’t introduced to the family.” That was true, though Yang was surprised at how much she suddenly realized that she  _ wanted _ to sleep with Blake. She shook her head lightly to push the thoughts aside, the idea of sinking into bed with Blake and slowly undressing her, of kissing those plump lips, of-

No, stop it, she chided herself. That was just the vampiric hypnotic influence talking, not any actual attraction. That was something vampires could do, after all, even if Yang trusted Blake not to do it intentionally. That was all this was, no matter how incredibly attractive Blake was when she used that low purr that Yang had come to love.

"So you're gonna bring her up to meet us?" Ruby asked and Yang knew she stepped into a trap the moment the words left her mouth. 

Yang sighed and ruffled Ruby's hair with a fond smile, making Ruby whine and bat at her hand absentmindedly, her silver eyes never leaving Yang's lilac. "Yeah, I'll bring her up. But only if tonight goes well," Yang said and Ruby nodded happily before pushing herself off the table and toward the door. 

"You better, cause mom's not happy with you sneaking off every day," Ruby said and Yang gasped in offense. 

"I do not sneak off!" she protested, "I get all my chores done and then get free time, just like when we were kids."

"And that's enough for dad, but you know mom," Ruby said with a roll of her eyes, "She always wants to know everything."

Yang finished her meal and stood, stretching her arms high above her head. "Yeah, you had to get it from somewhere Rubes," she drawled and Ruby pouted before slipping on her boots and opening the door. "I'll meet you at the potato patch," Yang called as Ruby hopped outside. 

“And then you’re teaching me how to fight!” Ruby shouted as she left and Yang waved in acknowledgment. She watched Ruby go with a soft smile, then shook her head. How was she going to tell Blake that she had agreed to bring her to dinner? Did vampires even eat normal food? What would that mean for their relationship?

Yang stopped her thoughts hard at that, chiding herself once more. She and Blake weren't in a relationship, they were allies at worst and coworkers at best. Any other feelings she had for Blake were the work of the vampire's hypnotic influence. Satisfied in her own determination, Yang cleaned up her plate and slid on her boots. Blake could wait until evening, right now there were chores to do.

By late afternoon both Yang and Ruby were dirty and sweaty, leaning heavily on a pair staves that Yang had made the week before. Ruby had already started carving designs into hers, birds, flowers, animals, anything that could fit along the wooden shaft. She spent most of her free time working on her staff, in preparation she said for her scythe, which was currently locked in their parents’ room. Tai hadn’t taken kindly to Yang encouraging Ruby to learn to fight, even with the disappearances, and had confiscated the scythe as soon as he learned about it. That was all the better, in Yang’s opinion, after all Ruby still had to learn the basics. Eventually Tai would relent, or more likely Ruby would steal it back, and then she could learn how to use the weapon proper. 

Luckly, her little sister had taken to fighting like a fish to water, as though she had been born to wield a weapon. They had breezed through the basic motions and footwork at such speed that it made Yang jealous, in a proud sort of way. As she watched Ruby go through a few strikes, adjusting her footing wherever she made a mistake, Yang wondered if this was how parents felt when their children moved out or took over the family business. At this rate, Yang thought ruefully, Ruby could start her own mercenary company in a month, two at best. 

But at the moment, Yang was still able to beat her in a sparring match, no matter how many times Ruby tried to attack her unawares. Yang stood with a stretch, feeling her back muscles stretch nicely, grunted in satisfaction, only to whip around as Ruby let out a cry and struck at her stomach. Yang leapt back and blocked the strike, grinning competitively as Ruby pressed the attack, swinging overhead wildly. As Yang turned the strike aside, letting it slam into the dirt, she called out, “Don’t telegraph your attacks like that Ruby, you get one chance in a real fight.”

Ruby nodded, and leapt at Yang with a thrust. The two danced back and forth in front of the potato patch as the sun began to set, their shadows cast on the house like a play. As Yang threw aside another strike, Ruby used the momentum to raise her staff above her head again while Yang’s was nearly buried in the dirt. Ruby let out a triumphant shout only to freeze as Yang swung up the butt of her staff, stopping it just short of Ruby’s chest. She smiled as Ruby let out a huff and let her staff fall to her side. “You said never to attack with the back half of your weapon.”

“Not until you know how to use the other half,” Yang said, tucking her staff under her arm, “You’ll get there, Ruby. You’re doing better than I did when I started learning.” Learning how to fight under Raven had been a quick and brutal process, consisting more of being thrown into an arena with other recruits than actual lessons. It was only due to Yang’s strength from working on the farm that she had come out on top most days.

“So I’m gonna be a badass one day?” Ruby said and Yang laughed.

“Watch your fucking mouth, Ruby, or dad’s gonna kick my ass,” she said and Ruby smirked. Yang looked out over her head and to the horizon, then said, “Shit, I gotta go. Blake’s waiting for me.” 

As she turned to put her staff away and grab her crossbow and hammer, she froze as Ruby said, “So her name’s Blake?” 

Yang cursed under her breath and said, “Yeah, her name’s Blake.” She turned back with a smile. “You’ll meet her soon, okay?” Ruby frowned for a moment, then nodded and Yang ran off, grabbing her gear and hiking into town.

The town was even more deserted tonight than it had been when Yang had met Blake, if that were possible. At the very least it felt more deserted, with animals scattering in the streets as Yang walked into town, stray dogs racing into the alleyways she approached, guarding scraps. A handful of shops were closed down willingly, and many more had been closed by Coco for being too close to an attack. Currently, everyone was a suspect, even if Coco would never admit to it. Yang was atahnkful that Coco’s wife Velvet was just as terrified of the attacks as the rest of the town, or she might have had to worry about dodging her. Getting caught out at night near the site of so many attacks would have seen Yang hanged, guilty or not. Mob mentality was a terrible thing to behold and Yang still had nightmares about the time she’d seen a mob burn a man alive for happening to have stolen some bread during a full moon. Something about feeding werewolves, it had all been very confusing and Yang had tried to forget it all. 

“A bit late, aren’t we?” someone drawled in a voice that could only be Blake’s and Yang turned to glare at the shadows that definitely hadn’t contained a pair of glowing amber eyes a moment ago. 

“I had chores to finish up and I’m teaching my sister how to fight,” Yang said defensively and Blake nodded slowly, stepping out into the moonlight. Yang blushed heavily, nearly choking on her next words at the sight. Blake was dressed in tight leather armor which accentuated her body, her hair done up in a loose bun, and a pair of swords at her hips. “A-are you ready?” Yang stammered out and Blake cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“Yes, of course. Are you? You seem a bit tense,” she asked and Yang blurted out,

“It’s nothing, I’m just a bit...sore.”

Blake raised an eyebrow and asked, “From teaching your sister to fight?” Yang nodded and Blake hummed quietly in thought, “Why are you doing that?”

“You, actually,” Yang said, “Before I knew you, I promised I would. A Xiao Long’s word is their bond.” 

For a moment it looked like Blake’s smirk softened into a smile, but it was gone too quickly for Yang to be sure. “I see.” There was a beat of silence, then Yang asked,

“So, how do we find this vampire? You said they’d be feeding tonight.” Blake nodded and turned, marching down the street, Yang falling into step behind her. 

“They will be,” Blake said firmly, “I know it. All we have to do is find out whe-” Glass shattered in the distance and someone screamed. Yang froze in place, her legs refusing to budge even as Blake bolted towards the sound, drawing her swords as she went. She skidded to a halt at the end of the road and turned back to Yang, her hair flowing in the evening wind and shouted, “Come on, Yang!” 

Yang shook her head violently and sprinted after her, feet pounding the cobbles beneath them as they charged towards the sound. Blake skidded around a corner, her feet tearing up the street from the force of her movement with Yang close behind, nearly bouncing off the wall of the side street in her hurry. In the distance glass twinkled in the street and the sound of wet slurping drifted down the walls, sinking into Yang’s ears and pinning her fear to her heart like a nail to a wall. She stopped short behind Blake, breathing heavily as Blake knelt down and studied the broken glass from a distance. 

“Right,” Blake said, “They’re young and hungry, which will make them unpredictable. They’ve also just fed, which means they’ll be stronger than usual.” She stood with a grunt and continued, turning to face Yang. “I’ll head inside and attack, flush them out into the street. You wait out here to strike, pierce the heart with one of your bolts. With luck, we can overwhelm them and finish this before they can escape.” She met Yang’s eyes and furrowed her brow stepping towards her and laying a firm hand on her shoulder. “Hey, you okay?” she asked softly, “I know this a lot to handle right now. I can do it alone if you want.” 

Yang felt the bubbling in her chest, the instinctual need to scream that yes, yes Blake should handle this alone. She wasn’t sure if it was the smell of blood wafting down the street, or the weak moans of whoever was the victim tonight, or just the very concept of what she was doing that made Yang want to turn tail and run, but she suddenly realized that she was a very small fish in a massive ocean. Blake gave her a comforting squeeze on her shoulder and Yang leaned into the touch, even as Blake murmured,

“Now or never, Yang. Make a choice.” 

It was the same thing that Tai had told her when she left to find Raven, the same thing that Raven had said before their first raid, the same thing that Qrow had whispered when Yang had come to him, bleeding and broken after a failed raid and just wanting so badly to go back home. Every time Yang had gone for the harder option, taken the road less traveled. Tonight would be no different, she decided even as her fear screamed at her to run. Yang forced a determined look into her eyes and smiled as best she could. “Let’s do this,” she said firmly and Blake nodded with an almost feral smile. 

Blake charged down the alley and dove into the house. Someone shouted indignantly as Yang settled into a crouch into the alley, waiting. “Who do you think you-” the voice was cut off by a solid punch and a howl of pain, then someone was hurled out of hte house. They smashed into the opposite wall, sending bits of brick and mortar flying everywhere, then slumped to the ground. Yang gasped at the sigh, the person laying stock still, then they groaned and pushed themselves up to their knees. They looked around, blood dripping from the fangs sticking out of their upper lip before landing on Yang. 

Yang snarled and prepared to fire only to be frozen by a roar as the vampire bellowed and rushed at her, hands outstretched and fangs glistening in the moonlight. It was like time froze as the vampire tore towards her, vicious claws at the ready, fangs ready to tear her throat out and guzzle down the blood therein. Yang might have stayed there, frozen in that moment, had the moon not glanced off the silver tip of her crossbow bolt. Yang yelped as time resumed and fired, the bolt slamming home and laying the vampire out flat. 

Before they even groaned in pain, Yang was loading a second bolt into her crossbow. Blake stepped out of the house covered in dust and grimacing as she held her stomach, her swords at the ready even as the vampire sat back up in the street. Yang let out a whimper of sadness mixed with disappointment as she saw the bolt, imbedded in the middle of their chest. Close, enough to kill a man, but not a vampire. Blake shrieked,

“Yang, run!” then the vampire rushed her again, bowling Yang over and sending them tumbling to the street. Yang slammed to the cobblestone street on her back, knocking the wind out of her even as the vampire tried to slice open her stomach. With a breathless grunt, Yang got her feet under the vampire and kicked, throwing them over her and landing heavily on their head on the street. Yang looked around quickly as the vampire righted themselves, snatching up a bolt and drawing her hammer. 

Then the vampire was on her again, the two tumbling through the air and landing back in the alley, this time with Yang on top. The vampire swiped at her, tearing open her armor without so much as a token of resistance, but that was all the opening Yang needed. She bellowed and slammed the bolt into their chest, right over their heart. The vampire screamed, an inhuman roar of pain and fury, but it wasn’t enough. With a mighty yell and a mightier swing, Yang brought her hammer down, pounding the bolt into the vampire’s heart. They roared once more, then lay still. 

All Yang could do was stare at them in shock and horror as their skin began to disintegrate into dust, floating off into the night with the bolt at its center. As the disintegration neared her, Yang flung herself backwards, scrambling away but unable to turn her eyes to look away. Within moments, the vampire had vanished, leaving only a trace of dust on teh ground and the silver tipped bolt in the street. Yang breathed heavily for a long moment, then murmured, “Holy shit.”

“Holy shit indeed,” Blake said softly as she approached, her swords at her side and one hand gripping her stomach. “That was impressive.”

“I-I didn’t-” Yang stammered, then focused on Blake. “Shit, you’re hurt,” she started to say, struggling to her feet only to have Blake laugh softly and shake her head. 

She grabbed Yang’s arm, hauling her upright. “I’m fine, just a bruise at best. Besides, you’re the one whos armor got ruined. You could’ve died.” Yang glanced down at her armor, split from the shoulder to the chest, and grimaced. “But you didn’t,” Blake continued, “In fact, that was some of the most inventive thinking I’ve ever seen from a vampire hunter.” She smiled at Yang and Yang felt her heart flutter at the sight of it. “Any more surprises you’re hiding from me?”

“Well, I promised my sister I’d bring you up to the house,” Yang blurted out, too frazzled from the fight and the fact that Blake was so proud of her to hold it back or wait for a more opportune moment. She cursed herself for letting that slip but Blake only laughed, shaking her head lightly. 

“I’d love to. I am your girlfriend, after all,” she said with a slight mocking drawl and Yang sighed, suddenly exhausted. 

“Okay, great,” Yang breathed out, feeling like there wasn’t enough air in the world to fill her lungs, “So, uh, we’ll just have to play at being a couple.”

“Do you think we’ll need to kiss?”

“My dad will shoot you if he sees you kissing his little girl,” Yang said and Blake laughed aloud, Yang joining in. They picked up Yang’s things, slinging her crossbow over her back once more and Yang let out a long sigh, “Fuck, is that was it’s always going to be like?”

“Oh no,” Blake said, and Yang let out a sigh of relief, then immediately wished she hadn’t as Blake said, “That was incredibly easy. Most vampires won’t be nearly that simple to defeat.”

“Right. Great, no, no, that’s great,” Yang grumbled and Blake laughed again. “Anything else we’re doing tonight?”

“You’re going home to get a good night’s sleep,” Blake said firmly, “Come by the shack to pick me up tomorrow.” Yang nodded and turned to go when Blake asked, “Should I dress up?” 

Yang paused, twirling her hair in thought for a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Like, don’t feel obligated or anything but if you want to impress my family, then go for it. My mother’s always partial to a pretty dress.” Yang laughed, “She tried so hard to get me to wear them.”

“You don’t?”

“Nah, can’t stand them. They don’t feel like...me, you know?” Yang asked and Blake nodded slowly, a smile playing at her lips. 

“Yes, I think I do,” she said softly and Yang suddenly knew that Blake did understand. She understood in a way that no one else had, not Summer, not Ruby, not even Raven’s petulant second in command Vernal, who had also shunned dresses. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Yang confirmed and Blake nodded. A shadow covered up the moon and when it cleared, she was gone. Yang scratched the back of her neck awkwardly for a moment before muttering, “Good night to you too.” She sighed and turned around, trying to come up with a good excuse for her ruined armor. Maybe a brawl that she hadn’t felt like reporting, though she knew her father would only want to find the person she got into a fight with to teach them a lesson. A bear, maybe? Yang shook her head and put it aside. Right now, her mind was too busy dealing with the events of that night. Hunting a vampire had seemed so glorious from afar, now that it had happened it was just as brutal and dangerous as any other kind of fighting. Then again, Yang thought sourly, that had always been where she felt most at home. She probably should’ve assumed she’d wind up doing something like this. At least with vampire hunting she’d gotten to meet Blake. That, Yang decided, was almost worth the danger. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would rather fight a vampire than go to an awkward dinner. But that can wait until tomorrow!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	8. Day Eight-Flush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang brings Blake up to meet the family over dinner, and Blake has more than one surprise in store for the evening.

“Blake?” Yang called out as she walked into the clearing, “You there?” She froze as she heard a small growl behind her, felt eyes boring into her back. She turned slowly, glancing over her shoulder to see Shroud glaring at her from the edge of the clearing. Yang must’ve walked right past her without even knowing and was now casting a shadow on the cat. “Uh, sorry,” she muttered, feeling just a bit foolish for talking to a cat. As she moved aside, the sun hit the cat again and she settled back into her nap, eyes never closing fully and remaining locked on Yang. With a shudder, Yang pushed onwards towards the shack, calling out again, “Blake, are you in there?”

“Coming!” Blake called out and Yang nodded, taking a seat on the furniture that was still in the clearing. A moment later, Blake walked out of the shack and Yang’s jaw dropped. She was dressed in an elegant evening gown, glittering with jewels that ran down the train, a shawl about her shoulders and her hair done up in a regal bun, small gold hoops in her cat ears. She smiled at Yang, her black lipstick in sharp contrast to her bright white teeth. “What? Do I have something on my face?”

“N-no!” Yang exclaimed, “You look good, great even!” Immediately she flushed red and turned away, burying her head in her hands in embarrassment. “I-I mean-” she stammered and Blake laughed softly, walking up to her with all the grace of a rolling fog. 

“Is it too much?” she asked softly and Yang smiled sheepishly, meeting Blake’s eyes to find an amused expression.

“I don’t think so,” she murmured, “I think you look amazing.”

“I’m glad. I don’t get to wear this dress much these days,” Blake said, then gave Yang a once over, who was dressed in a simple orange shirt and brown leather pants. “Though I feel a tad overdressed.”

“That’s fine,” Yang said as she stood, “Dad’s always saying I should find someone with class to settle down with.”

“Really? They expect us to get married?” Blake asked and Yang flushed red again, making Blake snicker. “Just joking, Yang.”

“R-right,” Yang mumbled, fumbling with her confidence and managing to remember at least some of her dignity when it came to treating a lady right. She extended her arm politely and asked, “Shall we?”

“I’d be delighted, darling,” Blake drawled, looping her arm through Yangs and only making Yang flush an even deeper shade of red. Blake snorted with laughter and said, “Glad that I can’t blush anymore, otherwise I might be just as red as you are.” Yang looked away in embarrassment as Blake called out, “Behave, Shroud, Yang and I will be back later. Don’t eat any of your food, you have plenty.” Shroud huffed indignantly at that and Blake sighed. “Don’t try me, young lady.” Shroud grumbled in a way that seemed to say ‘Don’t tell me what to do, mom’, in a way that was so similar to Ruby that Yang couldn’t help but laugh. Blake smiled softly at her, and said, “Lead on dear. Your family is waiting.”

“Of course, love,” Yang said, and started to lead Blake to the house. 

As they walked, Blake said, “I’ll be sure to forget where it is, if that makes you more comfortable.”

Yang shrugged and murmured, “It’s fine. If you wanted to eat me, you would have. Besides, it’s a horse farm. I could find it with my eyes closed based on the smell alone.”

“Ah,” Blake said, “So that’s what that stench is on Tuesdays.”

Tuesdays, Yang knew, were when the family burned any horse manure they couldn’t use in their crop fields or sell to local farmers. She smiled sheepishly and said, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. Anything else I should know?”

“My mother, Summer,” Yang said, suddenly serious, “She might try to...I dunno what exactly, but she knows that something’s up.”

“How so?”

“I don’t know,” Yang admitted, “But she believes there’s a vampire on Patch, and I don’t think she’s going to be terribly welcoming to strangers because of it. Just be careful. We don’t have any silver, I don’t think, so that’s out.”

“Mirrors and holy water, then,” Blake said with a roll of her eyes, “I’m sure we’ll get along fine.”

“Just don’t use any of your vampiric hypnosis nonsense on her,” Yang said in what was nearly a threatening growl, a tone that faded in the wake of Blake’s look of bewilderment.

“Vampiric hypnotism?” she asked incredulously, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“That-that’s not a thing?” Yang asked both in growing excitement and alarm at the prospect that her feelings for Blake were entirely real.

“Not that I know of,” Blake said with a shrug. Yang nodded slowly and led the way up to the house without another word.

Yang pushed open the door gently, greeted by a warm fire, the smell of a roast in the oven, and a mirror that had most certainly not been there earlier in the day. As she opened the door Ruby let out a squeal and ran over, wrenching the door open the rest of the way and revealing Blake. “Hi!” Ruby almost yelled, and Blake winced, her ears pinning back on her head, making Ruby smile sheepishly. “Sorry, I get excited.” 

Blake smiled broadly as she entered, and Yang saw her gaze flicker to the mirror. A reflection of Blake shone back in the soft light of the candles inside, and Yang let out a sigh of relief. Her family had no silver mirrors, making discovering Blake’s true nature by such a method fruitless. “It’s no trouble,” Blake said politely as she entered, Yang closing the door behind her, “My hearing is just a bit more sensitive.” She flicked her cat ears upright for emphasis and Ruby nodded quickly.

“Oh, of course. Uh, c’mon in, dinner’s about ready,” Ruby turned, leading the way in and called out, “Mom, dad, Yang’s back with her girlfriend!” 

Yang looked over with a small, uncertain smile and Blake smirked. “She seems nice,” she said, gesturing at Ruby, and Yang nodded.

“Yeah, she’s pretty great. C’mon, let’s go sit down,” Yang said and, arm in arm, she and Blake walked to the dinner table. They had barely sat down when Tai and Summer came in from their room in back, Tai with an absolutely beaming smile. Summer, on the other hand, was all but glaring at Blake, a small flask in her hand and the other clenched into a fist. Blake stood to greet them, but Tai waved her away.

“No need for formalities here, we’re simple folk. I’m Tai,” he said, extending a hand. Blake smiled gently and shook his hand firmly. As they separated, Tai wrung out his hand with a wince. “You’ve got quite a grip.” 

“I work with my hands,” Blake said, “I’m a seamstress, you know. Oh, I’m so sorry, where are my manners? I’m Blake, Blake Belladonna.” 

Ruby immediately squealed, “Hi Blake!” as she plopped down into a chair next to Yang.

“Pleasure to meet you, Blake,” Tai said, grabbing a chair for himself. Summer approached next, and Yang frowned as her mother tried to subtly pour a sprinkling of water onto her hand. Blake extended her hand to Summer, and the two shook, Summer’s face shifting to confusion for a brief moment as Blake had no reaction to what Yang assumed was holy water.

“Summer Rose,” Summer said tersely and Blake’s smile became strictly polite once more.

“Charmed,” she said smoothly and Summer forced a smile onto her face, shaking Blake’s hand for just a bit too long to be polite. There was a long awkward moment and Yang shot her dad a raised eyebrow of expectation. Tai cleared his throat, catching the attention of both Blake and Summer.

“Maybe we should check on dinner?” he asked and Summer immediately brightened up, retracting her hand and saying,

“Oh, of course. Yang, would you mind helping me?” 

“Course not mom,” Yang said, pushing back her chair and heading to the stove where Summer was already putting on heavy leather mitts. The moment they were away, Ruby launched into a series of questions so fast paced they might have been called an interrogation if they weren’t all there for dinner. 

Yang grabbed a second pair of mitts, reaching into the oven with her mother and helping her pull out the biggest roast she’d ever seen the family eat. “Wow mom,” she murmured, “This must’ve cost a fortune.”

“Tai insisted,” Summer said with a roll of her eyes, “My baby girl is bringing home somebody she might marry and all that. I tried to dissuade him, but you know how your father can be. Less sense than bankrupt merchant.” Yang laughed at that, the two of them carefully moving the roast into the open. “Yang would you mind grabbing plates?”

Yang dove into a cupboard, returning with a stack of five wooden plates just in time for Summer to carve off the first piece. The smell wafted up, all rosemary and thyme and delicious rich meat, and Yang felt her mouth begin to water. “It smells amazing, mom.”

“Thank you, dear. I really think I’ve outdone myself. There’s vegetables and potatoes as well, Ruby made those. We can grab them after we get the meat plated,” Summer said proudly, silver eyes twinkling as she carved another piece. “I was just wondering, does Blake eat this kind of thing?”

“Roast? Yeah, of course she does,” Yang said, furrowing her brow in confusion as Summer loaded up another plate. 

“Right, of course,” Summer said slowly and Yang felt a spike of worry pierce her heart.  _ Did _ Blake eat this kind of thing? She’d never thought to ask, too caught up in the rush of hunting their first vampire and then seeing Blake in her stunning gown. “I thought she might have other appetites.”

Oh. So Summer was testing Blake, just like Yang had suspected she might. Yang forced a laugh and shook her head. “Nah, she’s fine. Prefers fish, but that’s just cause she grew up in Menagerie.” That much she knew for certain about Blake’s past, what little she chose to reveal of it. Blake didn’t much like to talk about her life before breaking free of the White Fang. 

Summer nodded slowly, carving up another piece. She plated it and smiled up at Yang, even as her silver eyes shone with a fierce intelligence. “Be a dear and put those on the table? I’ll be right over with yours and Blake’s.” Yang frowned before turning, trying not to let her discomfort show. Summer hadn’t always been a mother and horse tamer, for a long time she and Raven had been mercenaries together, but this was the first that Yang was seeing of it, the skills that Summer had picked up. Still, she let out a sigh and pushed onwards. Summer was acting based on rumor and myth. Blake, as she often said when Yang brought up the stories, was no myth.

So she dropped off the plates and settled in next to Blake, throwing an arm around her shoulders as a show of solidarity. If Tai and Ruby noticed anything odd about Summer, they said nothing, though that was probably because Ruby was still busy firing off questions like a well trained archer. 

“Do you like it on Patch?” she asked and Blake smiled softly.

“It’s growing on-”

“You said you were a seamstress right?” Ruby asked and this time Blake only nodded. “That’s pretty awesome. I love watching people make things, it’s so cool to see them create something from nothing you know. I like to draw, do you like to draw? It’s one of my favorite things to do, but I mostly draw animals. You must draw a lot of dresses. Did you make your dress? It’s really pretty! Could you wear it to a royal ball?” Ruby was speaking so quickly now that even Yang was having trouble keeping up and from Blake’s furrowed brow she was still five sentences behind. As Ruby started to ask another question Yang reached out a hand and rested it gently on Ruby’s arm, which made her sister snap her mouth shut in concern. “I’m rambling again, aren’t I?”

“Just a bit, Rubes,” Yang said gently and Ruby nodded with a small,

“Oh.” She turned back to Blake with another sheepish smile. “Sorry, I just kind off…talk, sometimes. I just like knowing things, you know?” Ruby opened her mouth to continue, then stopped herself by physically slapping her hand to her mouth.

“I understand, Ruby,” Blake said, her confusion shifting into a gentle smile. “Don’t worry about it. I’d love to tell you all about being a seamstress, if you’ll tell me about your drawings.” Ruby’s face lit up and she bolted from the table. Yang laughed as she watched Ruby scramble up the ladder to the loft to grab her scrolls and leaned over to Blake.

“Now you’ve done it. She might never stop telling you about her drawings.” Blake laughed softly and Tai nodded with a fond smile on his face.

“She’s always been like that, mind working faster than her mouth and her mouth faster than everyone else’s minds. We taught that girl to read and she tore through the library in town like a wildfire.”

“Not literally, I hope?” Blake asked and Tai laughed politely, Yang snickering at the joke that was funnier to her than it had any right to be, though that may have been because of how vibrant Blake looked. She seemed at ease, even with Ruby’s questions and Summer’s suspicion, settling into Yang’s arm and nestling her head against her shoulder. 

“Yeah, Ruby’s been trying to learn everything she can about the world,” Yang said, “If she didn’t have chores she’d probably go wander off into the woods every day.”

“She does that anyway,” Tai said dryly and Yang laughed, then jumped with a yelp as Summer slammed her and Blake’s plates down.

“Yes, our Ruby the naturalist,” Summer said in an overly cheerful tone, sliding Blake’s plate to her. Yang could almost feel the garlic wafting off the meat on Blake’s plate and shot a glare at her mother, which went unnoticed as Summer had gone back to the counter to grab the vegetables and potatoes. As she returned she called up to the loft. “Ruby, can it wait until after supper?”

“But Blake said she wanted to see it now,” Ruby called back, poking her head up to reveal that she was carrying nearly a library’s worth of scrolls under her arms. 

“I can wait, Ruby,” Blake said and Ruby sighed, letting the scrolls fall back to the loft. She started to climb down, grumbling,

“But I have so many now and Yang hasn’t been around to see them, so I just-I-I got excited.” Yang reached over and gave her sister a one armed hug as best she could without letting go of Blake, which Ruby returned with a grateful smile.

“We’ll look them over together, okay Rubes?” Ruby nodded happily, and then the family dug in. The table was nearly silent aside from the sounds of eating, everyone too busy eating the wonderful meal. Yang had to admit, one of the things she had missed most about living with her parents was the cooking. She could cook, of course, and had even spent a while as the Branwen Company’s head chef, but she couldn’t compete with Summer. Where Yang could make a delicious meal out of anything she saw, Summer could turn ingredients into a masterwork, an orchestra of taste, texture, and smell, all combining into the greatest thing you had ever eaten. The greatest thing you’d ever eaten, that is, until the next time Summer cooked for you.

“This is amazing, mom,” Yang said between bites, Tai and Ruby agreeing with their mouths full, grunting instead of speaking. Blake nodded slowly, taking small, dainty bites as compared to the chunks that Yang ate or the way that Tai nearly tore his meat apart with his teeth.

“It is delicious,” Blake said, “I especially love all the garlic.” Yang looked up, nearly choking on her food at what Blake had said and then again at the subtle glares that Summer and Blake exchanged. 

“Garlic?” Tai asked after swallowing a hunk of meat, “You didn’t put garlic on my piece.”

“I was trying to make Blake feel at home. She is from Menagerie after all,” Summer said quickly and now it was Ruby’s turn to catch her in a lie.

“That doesn’t make sense though. Garlic is from Vacuo, not Menagerie. Menagerie cuisine usually relies on curries and fish based sauces for extra flavor,” Ruby said matter of factly and Summer flushed a bright red with embarrassment. 

“I-I’m sorry, I thought garlic was from Menagerie. I guess I’m not as learned as I thought,” she muttered and Blake smiled, a triumphant flicker appearing in her eye.

“It’s perfectly fine. You were right, Yang,” she said, turning away from Summer, “Ruby really does know everything.” 

Now it was Ruby’s turn to flush with embarrassment, suddenly finding her plate very interesting as Yang smiled fondly. “Yeah, she really does,” she murmured and Ruby flushed an even deeper shade of red. 

The rest of the evening passed by uneventfully, with no further attempts to test Blake from Summer. After dinner, and a light desert of cookies, Ruby had spent the next several hours showing Yang and Blake her pictures from the past six years. They had nearly gotten through a quarter of them when Ruby finally dozed off, her head in Yang’s lap. Summer and Tai were reading at the table, only looking up when Blake stood with a grunt.

“Well, I should be going. I have to get a good night’s sleep, lots of work tomorrow,” she said.

Tai and Summer stood politely and Tai said, “Oh, of course. It was lovely having you.” 

“It was lovely to meet you,” Blake said, her smile so genuine that it made Yang’s heart melt. “Well, goodnight Tai, Summer. Goodnight Ruby,” she smiled fondly at Ruby’s sleeping form, then murmured in a voice that was far too soft for Yang’s own good. “Goodnight, Yang.” 

“Oh, walk her out, Yang,” Tai said, kneeling down to pick up Ruby, and Yang scrambled to her feet.

“Do you need-” she started to ask her father, but she smiled gently at her as he carried Ruby to the ladder.

“I have her. Go say goodnight to Blake.” Yang nodded quickly and walked over to Blake, linking their arms and heading for the door. They stepped outside, letting the door swing closed behind them. Yang let out a sigh of relief as it swung shut.

“That went well. Do you think that we convinced them?” she asked, only for Blake to lean forwards and kiss her, their lips meeting tenderly and Blake’s fangs gently scraping at Yang’s lips. After a long moment, in which the world might have stopped, or flipped upside down, it was all the same to Yang at this point, Blake leaned back with a satisfied smile. “Th-the door’s closed, Blake,” Yang stammered, “You didn’t need to d-do that, they couldn’t see us.”

“I wasn’t doing that for them,” Blake murmured, sliding her arm out of Yang’s. She took a step back into the shadows and said, “Goodnight, Yang.” Then she stepped into a pool of darkness and was gone.

Yang stood there, dumbfounded, for a long while, until finally her mother had to poke her head out to see if anything was wrong. After assuring her that everything was fine, Yang reached up and stroked a finger along her lips, almost still feeling Blake’s pressed against them. She let out a happy sigh, her heart full to bursting, and whispered, “Goodnight, Blake.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it still fake dating if both parties want to be in a relationship but won't admit to it openly? Survey says yes.   
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	9. Day Nine-Breast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a fight with another vampire, Yang takes care of Blake's injuries. Blake takes time to reflect on the reality of being a vampire.

Blake slammed against the wall, sending dust and brick shooting out around her, a small crater forming around her body. The rogue vampire screeched in her face, eyes tinged and unholy red and fangs gnashing inches from her face, only held back by Blake’s braced arms against their chest. She snarled, her own fangs flashing in the moonlight, then stomped on the vampire’s knee, which gave way with a sickening crunch. The vampire screamed nad fell backwards, hands flailing as it fell and Blake felt her armor split as the vampire’s claws raked through it easily. 

Billowing rage filled her chest and she leapt on the vampire, pinning its arms to the ground even as it roared up at her. “This is an heirloom piece, you fuck!” Blake bellowed, wrenching the vampire’s arm to the side. The vampire howled in pain as its arm tore clean from its body then was silenced as Blake roared, plunging her hand into the vampire’s chest. With a wet squelch and a spray of blood, she tore the heart from its chest. The vampire screamed once more, then lay still, its body beginning to fade into dust. 

Blake collapsed with a sigh, tossing the disintegrating heart aside. She glanced down at her chest, her armor torn through like paper. “Shit.” 

“Blake? Blake where are you?” Blake snapped up at the sound of Yang’s voice and called out,

“Alleyway! It’s safe, you can come in.” Yang rounded the corner, hair flashing white in the pale moonlight, her face contorted in concern. Her crossbow was slung over her back once more and her hammer in her hand, dripping with blood. “You got the thralls?” Blake asked and Yang nodded.

“Those cultists?” she asked, “Yeah, I got ‘em. Took out one with my crossbow but the other got the jump on me.”

“I know how that song and dance goes,” Blake said with a tired sigh. The past four months had seen plenty of rogue vampires try to establish themselves on Patch, far more than Blake would have thought. She and Yang had destroyed them all, growing stronger with each fight, and Yang was proving herself to be an accomplished vampire hunter. It was too many to be a coincidence, she mused, and the newer ones had followers, thralls who served a vampire with the promise of immortality in exchange for servitude. There would be time to figure it out later, Blake thought, shoving herself upright. She hissed as hser chest flared with pain. Yang immediately took a step forward and Blake waved her off. “I’m fine, it’s just a scratch. Are you injured?”

“I’m fine,” Yang said, sliding her hammer into her belt and furrowing her brow in concern. “Are you sure that-”

“It’s just a scratch, Yang,” Blake snapped and Yang recoiled a step. Blake sighed and ran a hand through her hair, already knowing that she was going to have to wash it especially well to get out the blood. “I’m sorry. My armor it’s...it’s from my family,” she admitted quietly. “It’s one of the only things I have left of them.” 

“Oh,” Yang said softly, “Maybe we can talk to Scarlet? He’s a good smith, he might be able to fix it.”

“I’d need to go back to Menagerie to get this fixed, and even then the methods are two hundred years old now. I don’t know if anyone could fix it,” Blake said and Yang nodded slowly.

“And you never want to go back to Menagerie, right?” she asked quietly and Blake nodded.

“That’s right. Too close to the White Fang.” The pack had long ago made Menagerie their home and Blake had no intention of ever returning there as long as Adam was alive. Patch, she was glad to see, seemed to be far enough away to avoid his attention. With luck and a lot of hard work, she might yet be able to etch out a life here. “C’mon, we need to get all this cleaned up,” Blake said and started to walk towards Yang, only to be stopped by a gasp from Yang. “What?”

“Blake...y-your arm,” Yang whispered and Blake looked down to see blood pooling underneath her arm. It was only then that she realized how much her chest hurt, warm her arm felt as blood poured down it from her wound.

“Oh. That’s not good,” she muttered, her words not catching up to the rising panic in her chest as she collapsed to the ground, landing heavy on her knees. She heard Yang scream her name once, then she fell flat on the cobbles and the world went dark. 

Something nuzzled her face and Blake groaned. The something nuzzled again and then a large, sandpapery tongue stroked up her cheek, nearly tearing off her skin as it went. She groaned again, her eyes fluttering open to meet the worried gaze of Shroud, who was laying next to her. “Hey baby,” Blake slurred, reaching over and stroking her behind the ear. Shroud growled friendly-like and leaned into the touch as Blake started to scratch her behind the ears, in her favorite spot. 

After a while, Blake looked around. She was on the ground at her shack, the fire was going and there was a small plate of food scraps on the floor, which Shroud had started to eye hungrily. She glanced down at herself to see that she was in her casual wear, a hint of bandages wrapped around her chest. She sat up with a groan, then yelped as her chest throbbed painfully.

The door nearly burst off its hinges as Yang came tumbling in, looking around wildly before her eyes settled on Blake. She let out a sigh of relief and closed the door behind her. “You’re awake. Thank the gods,” she breathed out, collapsing to her knees. “I didn’t know if you’d ever wake up.” 

Blake furrowed her brow and studied Yang, seeing the earnest concern in her eyes and the worry deep in her features, a worry that was almost alien to Blake. NObody had worried for her well being in two centuries. She had nearly forgotten what it was like. “What happened?”

Yang took a deep breath to steady herself, then said, “That slash on your chest, it was deeper than you thought. Nearly cut your heart.” Blake gasped at that, hand snapping up to her chest protectively and Yang continued. “I got you back here to take care of you, had to convince Shroud that I didn’t do it. You wouldn't believe the deer I had to bag to get that cat to stop hovering over you so I could treat your wound.” Blake laughed at that and looked over at Shroud, who had started to eat the food scraps.

“I can imagine,” she said dryly, turning back to Yang. “Then what?”

“I had to get to the wound, Blake. I took off your armor and shirt to see how bad it was and saw your...um…” she trailed off, flushing a bright red and Blake laughed.

“My breasts?”

“Y-yeah,” Yang mumbled, clearing her throat in such an embarrassed manner that Blake almost burst out laughing, adoration warming her heart at the sight. Yang continued, “When I finally got to you, the wound had already started to heal. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen, Blake,” she said, a hint of awe entering her voice. Blake shrugged and immediately wished she hadn’t as her entire chest screamed at her to stop. She shrieked and Yang leapt forwards to help her, gently cradling her as BLake fell back to the bed. 

“Vampires heal faster,” she grunted as she lay down flat, the pain beginning to ebb away. “Normal wounds heal twice as fast, things that would kill mortals only hurt us. Poisons and disease are practically pointlessss,” her words started to slur as she faded back into darkness. “Jus’ gotta be car-careful ‘round silver…” Yang smiled gently at her as Shroud came up next to her, the two staring at her with such concern, such adoration and love that Blake felt a warmth in her chest that she had long thought dead, a fire that she had thought snuffed out. She acted on that fire, which she vaguely recognized as love, reaching up to stroke Yang’s cheek gently. “Stay wiv me...okay?”

“I’ll be right here, Blake,” Yang said softly, laying her hand on top of Blake’s and giving it a gentle squeeze. Blake smiled at that, then drifted back into darkness. 

When next she woke up, she nearly laughed aloud. Over two hundred years of never sleeping and finally she could rest again. All she had to do was nearly die. Blake sat up as best she could, the pain not nearly as bad as it had been and looked around. The fire was still going and from the chill in the air it was later in the season. In front of the fire, in a sight that made her heart melt, were Shroud and Yang, Yang gently laying her head on Shroud’s flank as the two snored in front of the fire. 

Blake reached up to her chest, feeling at the bandages and slipping a finger underneath. Her wound was nearly healed, still far deeper than a mortal could survive but nothing she hadn’t put up with before. So she pushed herself upright, finally taking to her feet after...however long it had been. It would be good to stretch her legs again, and besides she could feel a cold pit in her stomach. She needed to feed, and soon. That, at least, let her know that it had been less than a month since her injury. Any longer and she would have dragged herself into town in order to feed. Another month after that and it was likely that she might have fed on the animals in the forest. Any longer and she ran the risk of going blood mad, attacking anything in sight as long as it had a pulse. She’d seen the horrors that a blood mad vampire could unleash, entire towns washed away in a ravenous feast. Most vampires kept themselves in check, desperately trying to believe that they were still at least in control of their hunger, but a few, like Adam and his White Fang, enjoyed going blood mad. Blake could still remember a handful of times when Yuma, Adam’s most trusted agent, had lived in small mortal communities for months without feeding, eventually slaughtering everyone and drinking enough blood to fill a river. Blake had, thankfully, never been forced to do the same. If Yuma was to be believed, it was almost addicting, the ferocity, the power, the unbridled rage, and worst of all, the hunger that wracked every fiber of your being, every piece of your soul bent towards feeding, drinking, feasting on blood. 

Every vampire went blood mad once, usually after they were first turned. In an attempt to deny what they had become a young vampire would fight the urge to feed until it became too much to bear. Someone cutting their finger, a bloody nose, even the smell of metal in the air could set off a blood mad vampire. When they came back to their senses, hours, sometimes days later, one of two things happened: the young vampire either went mad and gave into their desire for blood, or they fought it and ran into the night, only feeding when necessary only ever on those they deemed deserving. Blake was one of only a handful that made up the latter party, and they were lucky enough to have escaped servitude to the one who had turned them. Most vampires never did, spending eternity a slave to the whim of their imposed master. Blake had no doubt that Adam would gladly have kept her this way, had fortune not conspired to free her. 

As she stepped outside into the cold fall air, she tried to remember what it was like to shiver from the cold. She still felt temperatures, of course, but had long ago forgotten how they were supposed to affect her. Yang had taken to wearing a heavy fur coat and gloves, shivering as they trained before retreating inside for the fire. Blake kept the fire going for Shroud’s benefit more than her own, the big cat more used to the tropical heat of Menagerie than the cold winters of Patch.

She heard the door open and Yang’s stumbling footsteps as loudly as though they had been inside her own head. Her hearing had been excellent before being turned, but once she had it had been increased tenfold. She could hear every bird in the trees, every deer in the woods, the steady thumping of Yang’s heart which had started to increase every time she was around Blake. If Blake’s heart still pumped, she fancied it might have done the same around Yang. Blake hadn’t known love in all her life, but the feelings of affection for Yang, the way she felt proud every time Yang did well, or felt her chest flutter when Yang smiled at her or winked at her, they were the signs that all her romance novels spoke of. 

Still, she held her feelings back. She was immortal. Yang would die of old age before she let herself be turned, no matter how strong their feelings might become. No matter how much BLake had meant that kiss after dinner with the Xiao Long/Rose family, no matter how badly she wanted to curl up next to Yang while she slept and pretend she could sleep too, just to feel Yang’s warmth, Blake could never give into her feelings completely. She had already lost her parents, her friends, everyone she loved to old age and disease while she remained unaffected. She refused to lose anyone else. 

“You’re up,” Yang said softly as she stepped up beside Blake. Blake nodded curtly, refusing to look at Yang lest her feelings overwhelm her.

“I am. Thank you for looking after me,” she said. “What did your family think of you taking care of me?”

“I told them you were sick and needed someone to help you,” Yang said with a shrug. “Mom sent over soups with me whenever I came back home. I split them with Shroud.”

“Shroud likes soup now,” Blake mused, then laughed. Yang smiled and Blake could feel the warmth radiating off her like a fire even as the wind whipped around them in the oncoming winter. 

“Some soups, the beef and barley went over well. Not so much with the squash,” Yang said and Blake snickered. “How’re you feeling?” Blake looked over at Yang, finding her eyes so full of compassion and caring that it almost sent her reeling away. How was it possible for someone to care that much? It almost didn’t seem real.

“F-fine,” she managed, cursing her own nervousness, “I’m much better now. It still hurts, but it’ll heal. I might even scar.”

“Can you scar?” Yang asked, furrowing her brow in confusion. “I mean, with the being dead thing.” 

“The being dead thing?” Blake drawled and Yang flushed red with embarrassment. “Just teasing. Yeah, I can scar. I just need to feed to speed up the process. If I’d had a good source of blood, I could’ve been back up and moving two weeks ago.”

“Oh!” Yang exclaimed and Blake knew what she was going to say even before she said it. “I could’ve-”

“No,” Blake said quickly, and Yang froze, confusion and worry washing over her like a storm. “I don’t...you already said you don’t want to be turned. I assumed that you didn’t want to be fed upon, either.”

“I…” Yang started to say, then sighed heavily. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

“And I appreciate your offer,” Blake said firmly, “But your my-my friend. I don’t want to feed on my friends, it feels...I don’t know.”

“Like an expectation?” Yang said softly and Blake nodded.

“Something like that.” She cleared her throat and made her way over to the chair, which was still in the clearing. She picked up the black leather book that she knew so well, the edges crumpled and faded both with age and with use, and settled in. “Well, if you don’t mind, I have some reading to do.”

“Oh, sure,” Yang said, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. “I’ll, uh, I’ll be at home. Do you need anything?”

Blake pursed her lips in thought, then, “Does Shroud have food?”

“Another deer I bagged a few days ago,” Yang said, gesturing towards the shack, “I hung it up out back, it should still be good.”

“Thank you,” Blake said quietly, “I’ll come and get you when I feel like training again.” Yang nodded and went inside to grab her things, coming back out with Shroud trotting behind her. The big cat settled in next to Blake and curled up at her feet, her warmth pooling into Blake’s legs and flooding up her body. Blake looked up and waved at Yang as she walked off towards her home, then opened her book and let out a small sigh, heavy with the weight of centuries. With that, she began to read. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Switching up the perspective is always fun. It only happens a few times in this fic, but I still enjoy it!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	10. Day Ten-Seal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alone in the house, Yang takes a moment to investigate the special book that Blake keeps so close.

Snow had begun to fall on Patch the night before and Yang was bundled up even tighter than usual. It was a light snow, a dusting really, but it was enough to remind her why she had liked living on the eastern coast with Raven during winter more than living on Patch. Being with her family was the highlight of her life, but she would rather have done it without freezing her nose off. Still, she thought ruefully, it hadn’t seemed to bother Blake, even if Shroud had started spending all her time by the fire and snarling anyone who got close. The shack was surprisingly well insulated, thanks to whatever Blake had done to make it pitch black, so the cat was content to stay inside.

At least, she usually was. Today her massive paw prints were scattered around the shack and she was laying on the ground outside the shack with a disgruntled expression on her face. Yang scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, still not sure how she felt about talking to a cat. “Uh...hey Shroud. Is Blake around?” The cat huffed and wrapped a paw across her eyes. “Right, you can’t answer,” Yang grumbled, “You’re a cat.” 

She cautiously stepped over Shroud and pushed open the door to the shack. All the furniture had been moved back inside now that she and Blake were hunting vampires more regularly, with Yang graduating Blake’s training by the simple act of surviving a vampire at all. Still, her eyes narrowed in confusion as she saw the fireplace cold and barren, a handful of books open on the table. Yang frowned and stepped inside fully, busying herself with making a fire. It wasn’t like Blake to leave without even making a fire for Shroud. Something must have happened, something that got her attention so quickly that she couldn’t take the time to do so. The thought twisted Yang’s gut into a knot, even as she built the fire, her numb fingers barely managing to create a structure that would be useful. But she had learned well from her mothers and soon a fire roared in the fireplace. Shroud trotted in and plopped down next to the fire with a grateful rumble in her chest and Yang smiled softly at the big cat.

“There you go, baby,” she murmured, “sleep well, okay?” Shroud rumbled again and her eyes drifted closed. Yang stood with a grunt and shut the door, latching it securely, then looked around the house again. The books caught her eye and she wandered over to find a half dozen books strewn across the table, histories of Patch and Menagerie, a book on lunar cycles, a pair of herbology books, and the black leather book with golden writing, sealed shut with its leather strap. Now that Yang could see it up close she could finally see the symbol on the seal, a stylized belladonna flower flanked by a pair of b’s. Yang ran her fingers over it and murmured, “Blake Belladonna.” 

She knew that she shouldn’t open it. SHe knew that it was breaching the trust that Blake had put in her and she ahd in Blake. But the old instincts that Raven had taught her were bubbling in her chest, telling her to learn as much as she could about Blake. Always have a backup plan, that had been Raven’s way, and it was so much easier to build a plan when you knew everything about the person you were planning against. Yang physically shrunk away from the idea of planning against Blake, of thinking of betraying her trust. 

At first she had thought to use the skills that Blake had taught her to destroy her once the rest of the vampires were dealt with, but the vampires kept coming. Besides, Yang thought to herself, she had started to fall for Blake, hard. It was in every laugh, every smirk, every cocky grin and self satisfied hum of approval. It was in the way that Blake had fit in so nicely, so naturally at the house, the way that she had settled into Yang’s arms like she was meant to be there, the way they had kissed...Yang had lost more sleep over that kiss than she wanted to admit. 

No, she wouldn’t look. It was too big of a breach of trust, too much of a risk to her relationship with Blake. There was no world, no reality where Yang would endanger her friendship with Blake. Even if she hadn’t been falling in love with her, Yang knew that she needed Blake to fight off the apparently endless stream of vampires that kept arriving on Patch. Alone, she might have taken down a handful, a dozen if she was feeling particularly good about herself, but after that it would have been over. The vampires were too strong, too fast, too powerful, and now they had mortals helping them out, mortals who were just as twisted as the monsters they served. No, Yang thought as she straightened up in her determination, her hand lingering over the book as an afterthought, she wouldn’t look. 

Shroud grumbled from the fireplace and Yang looked over, her hand landing on the book as she relaxed, safe in her decision. “What’s happening, baby?” she cooed softly, “You comfy?” Shroud grumbled again, wrapping her tail around her body and falling back asleep. Yang almost didn’t hear the footsteps until they were on top of the shack, covered as they were by Shroud’s snores. 

“Yang are you in here? I saw the smoke and I thought that-” Blake popped open the door and stepped inside, in light leathers and a scarf, unaffected by the cold. She stopped dead when she saw Yang’s hand on the book and Yang’s eyes went wide in panic. 

“Blake I didn’t-” she started but Blake’s gaze hardened like iron and she hissed,

“Get out.”

“But-but I didn’t even-”

“I said,” Blake snarled, her eyes flooding with orange and her snarl lifting her lips to show her fangs, sharp as ever in the glistening firelight, “get out of my house.” Yang stumbled back a step, stumbling over her words and fighting to form a coherent sentence, but her mind was still trying to comprehend what she was seeing. Her tongue wouldn’t respond, her throat expelling senseless babble as Blake stalked towards her, seeming to tower over her as the fire threw her shadow on the wall like a hideous legend of old. “Don’t make me throw you out,” she growled and Yang nodded quickly, bolting for the door. She burst back out into the clearing and turned around, hands up in a peacemaking gesture only to see Blake glaring at her from the doorway. “Don’t come back.”

The door slammed shut and finally Yang’s mouth responded to her wishes as she screamed, “Blake I didn’t look! I just-I didn’t-” her words trailed off and she collapsed to her knees in the snow, mumbling, “Please...I didn’t look…” 

The door remained shut and Yang began to weep, her heart feeling like it was ripping in two.

There was only one cure for a broken heart, if you asked Qrow Branwen, and that was alcohol. Even now, years after he had sobered up, he had still slid Yang a shot every time she’d wound up with her heart shattered by the latest pretty face or foolish fling in a town they were just passing through. Now Yang was on her own in the tavern, staring numbly at the counter while the barkeep poured her another ale. 

She caught it on instinct when the barkeep slid it to her and immediately drank the whole thing down without even stopping for air. As she slammed it down, she yelled out, “Keep ‘em coming, Junior.” The barkeep nodded and took her tankard, filling it to the brim. As he passed it to her, he leaned on the bar and asked,

“Girl trouble?”

Yang scoffed and took a huge gulp of her ale before muttering, “Like you wouldn’t fucking believe. I didn’t even  _ do  _ anything, she just thought I did. It’s a misunderstanding.” 

Junior chewed on that information for a while before saying, “You know what always cheers me up?”

“Getting drunk and then getting arrested by Coco?” Yang drawled and Junior rolled his eyes. 

“No, getting a new girl. You just need someone to fuck and you’ll feel better.” Yang gave him a withering glare but Junior, to his credit, only shrank back a hair. He looked up over Yang’s shoulder and nodded meaningfully at the door. “Here comes somebody new, all fancy and well dressed. See if she’ll give a rat like you the time of day.” 

“Fuck off, Junior,” Yang groaned and Junior laughed, pushing himself off the bar and walking away to another customer. Yang slumped over and rested her head on her arm, groaning against the bar as the ale failed to take the edge off her pain. She hadn’t done anything, she knew that. All she had to do was convince Blake of the truth and then they could get back to the way things had been. Yang didn’t want anything to do with that black leather book anymore, Blake could wave it in front of her face and she would ignore it. Her friendship with Blake was too important, too big a part of her life to let go now. No, Yang decided, maybe aided by ale or wanting to spite Junior, she was going to apologize to Blake and explain what had happened, or rather what  _ hadn’t _ happened. Misunderstandings happened all the time, Yang mused, this would pass by and be something they could laugh at in a few weeks.

Someone sat down next to Yang, their posture too straight and their clothing too upscale to be anyone from Patch, all belts and prim leather trimming. Yang gave the woman, for it was a woman, a long once over as she sat at the bar, waiting politely for Junior. Long white hair ran over her back in a side ponytail, affixed with a snowflake pin. The jacket she wore and the puffy shirt underneath were good cover for the armor she had on beneath that, so well hidden that Yang almost didn’t see it at all. At her hip was a long rapier, and on the other a series of wooden stakes shoved into a series of belt loops. She glared at the back of the bar with chill blue eyes, a long scar crossing over the left and coloring it a milky white. 

“You’re new,” Yang said bluntly and the woman looked over with such a contemptuous glance that Yang wasn’t sure if she was so intimidated she wanted to bow or so insulted she wanted to get into a fight with this woman. Then again, Yang wasn’t drunk or stupid enough to get into a fight with a woman who would stare at someone in full leather armor, weapons close at hand, like they were an insect.

“Indeed,” the woman said slowly, as though anticipating Yang’s drunkenness. From the amount of ale that Yang had drunk, she knew it was on her breath. The woman shifted her glare back to the bar when Yang blurted out.

“Welcome to Patch. I’m-I’m Yang. Yang Xiao Long. I’m a mercenary.” She jerked her head at her weapons as though to explain their presence. The ale must have been getting to her, Yang mused, she would never have thrown herself into a greeting like that without at least a good joke to go along with it. Still, she was committed to it now, and new friends never hurt anyone. If the woman proved trustworthy, she might even be a worthy addition to the vampire hunting team, a backup in case something happened to either Yang or Blake. The thought withered as the woman’s blue eyes flicked to Yang’s lilac ones, cold and piercing. 

The woman turned back slowly, fixing Yang with a gaze that stripped her of her armor, her skin, her flesh, her bones, and left her soul exposed. A shock of cold shot through Yang, chasing away her growing buzz like a raging bull would a cat. She felt her breaths grow short and heavy, and barely registered when the woman extended her hand to her. She shook on instinct, feeling a wiry strength in the woman’s grip that belied her slight appearance, nearly crushing Yang’s hand in her own. “Weiss Schnee,” the woman said, “Professional vampire hunter.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We couldn't get through this whole month without some angst, now could we?  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	11. Day Eleven-Attention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the arrival of Weiss Schnee, a professional vampire hunter, Yang races to warn Blake before it's too late.

Yang stared blankly at the woman, Weiss Schnee, she had said, for a long moment, then mumbled, “You’re a what?”

“A professional vampire hunter. Vampire fangs sell for quite a nice price back in Atlas,” Weiss said, as though to an idiot. “I don’t expect you’ve noticed the rash of disappearances around here if you’re regular in this place,” she gestured at the dump that was Junior’s tavern, drunks littering the ground as thickly as the dust, “But Patch is in danger. I plan to save you all before this creature goes into a frenzy and slaughters the entire island.”

“You’re shitting me,” Yang said slowly, the stakes, the rapier, the long scar, the armor, everything about this woman taking on a new dimension in light of her revelation. Her mind started to race, or tried to at least, getting a few stumbling steps towards a plan before that collapsed entirely. All she could come up with, all that she could think, was ‘Warn Blake’. Blake was smart, she had stayed hidden for weeks before Yang had found her, and even then it had been a lucky thing. Something about this woman, this Weiss Schnee, made Yang’s skin crawl like she was being dissected piece by piece and categorized for later. Yang had been a joke, an amateur when she’d gone after Blake. Weiss Schnee would hunt her down and finish the job. 

“I’m not surprised you don’t believe,” Weiss Schnee snorted derisively, “Most people outside of Atlas don’t. It’s allowed the other kingdoms to be infiltrated quite easily, I’m afraid. If it wasn't for people like me, the whole world would be their kingdom.”

“You’re telling me that there’s vampires in Atlas?” Yang asked and Weiss Schnee shrugged before ordering a shot of whiskey.

“And the rest of Remnant,” she said with a shrug.

“Bullshit.”

“I wish it was,” Weiss said, a flash of sorrow and guilt appearing in her eye but vanishing before Yang could call it out. She took her whiskey from Junior and threw it back with one smooth motion, grimacing at the taste. Yang had tried Junior’s whiskey a few times, and each time was worse than the last. It was more sludge than alcohol, really, but that didn’t stop Weiss Schnee from ordering a second shot.

“Even if there were vampires, there’s not one on Patch,” Yang said with a roll of her eyes, “We’d know if that kinda thing was happening.”

“That’s the most clever trick of the vampire, Yang Xiao Long, the mercenary. They made everyone believe they didn’t exist.” Weiss Schnee threw back her second shot with another grimace, and placed the shot glass on the table upside down. With that, she stood and tossed a handful of Lien on the bar. “You wouldn’t happen to know who’s in charge of security around here, do you?”

“Coco Adel. She’s usually in the market this time of day,” Yang murmured, and Weiss Schnee nodded before heading for the door. Yang watched her go with narrowed eyes, her heart pounding her chest like a broken door in a storm. The moment that Weiss Schnee was gone, she tossed some Lien of her own on the bar and bolted for the door. 

She tore out of town, leaping between people and slipping into alleys to avoid the small crowds of huddled people who were out buying supplies for the coming winter. As she ran past the market square she glanced over, seeing Coco giving Weiss Schnee an incredulous look. Yang pushed the thought from her mind and pushed onwards, her feet pounding the cobbles as she ran, tearing out of town and into the countryside. 

By the time she reached the shack her legs were burning and her lungs felt like they were collapsing in her chest, her hammer weighing heavily on her hip. She slid to a halt and bent over, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. The moment she had forced her lungs to cooperate and managed to draw enough breath to speak, she choked out, “Blake! Blake I need to talk to you!” 

There was no response.

“Blake, I’m sorry!” Yang yelled, stumbling towards the door, “I didn’t even look at the book! It was wrong of me to even touch it, I should’ve just-just-” She came to a halt as she pushed open the door, revealing the inside of the shack empty and barren, without even a footprint to betray that someone had been there earlier that day. Yang cursed herself for being too preoccupied to notice the lack of smoke and all but threw herself out of the shack, looking around wildly. “Shit,” she muttered, “Shit, shit, shit!” 

Think, Yang, she thought to herself, what had Blake said all those months ago? She had other hideouts, other shacks somewhere on Patch, but she had never shown any of them to Yang. There had to be tracks, had to be some kind of give as to where she and Shroud had gone. Yang sprinted around the clearing, eyes devouring the surrounding area for any sign of passage, but the snow was undisturbed, not even a broken branch to serve as a signpost. Yang swore again and kicked at the snow, sending it up in a spray of white. Without any kind of trail she’d have to comb over all of Patch to find where Blake had gone. That could take weeks, months with the snow, and if Weiss Schnee was any good at her job then Yang didn’t have that kind of time. If Yang didn’t have that kind of time, then Blake didn’t either. 

But there was nothing for it. Yang sprinted back home, plunging through the snow like a mad woman, her scarf streaming out behind her as she plowed a path from the shack back to her house. She dove into the stables and started to saddle up a horse, manic fingers flying over the familiar motions as her mind reeled with what was happening, the insanity of what was going on. She had thought that they’d covered up their tracks well, that news of the vampires had only been kept between her and Blake, the idea too ludicrous to consider. Apparently this Weiss Schnee had an ear to the ground so tightly that she had heard even the half whispers of nervous townfolk on the other side of the world from Atlas. 

Yang swung her leg up over the horse and clicked her tongue, urging the horse forwards. She hadn’t gotten more than four steps out of the barn when she froze, looking towards the house. “Mom?”

“She’s one of them, isn’t she?” Summer murmured, and Yang nodded slowly, too frazzled and worried to bother lying. “Oh, Yang, what did she promise you? Why are you serving her?”

“I’m not serving her,” Yang said softly, “I love her. I don’t care if it’s right or holy or whatever else, but she’s in danger. I’m going to save her, mom.” Summer shrank back a hair, then sighed heavily and nodded.

“I understand,” she said softly, “If she hurts you, I’ll hunt her down myself.” Yang balked at the words and then again as she saw her mother’s gaze had shifted from worried and horrified to furious and determined. Suddenly she realized exactly what Raven had always been going on about when she said that Summer was the most terrifying woman she’d ever met, the silver flashing like steel and her lips peeled back in a vicious snarl. 

“She won’t,” Yang said softly, reaching down and placing a hand on her mother’s shoulder. Summer’s fury broke and she sighed again, reaching up to cup Yang’s hand. “I promise she won’t. I’ll be careful, okay?” Summer nodded and gave Yang’s hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go.

“Go,” she said softly and Yang smiled even as she felt tears begin to form in her eyes. She clicked her tongue again and urged her horse forwards, angling towards the north. She’d scour the northern coast, then work her way south in a criss cross pattern, the same way that Raven had taught her to find lost caravans. Patch was far smaller than the Valean coast, Yang thought as she trotted north, Blake had to be out there. She just had to be.

It was luck as much as skill that led Yang to the small copse of trees on the southern coast of patch. It was an oddity, a small hillock on the sand that was just disconnected enough from the ocean spray to grow a handful of stubborn pines that refused to quit, even as the sand around them spread up towards the town. Tucked in that copse and hidden until Yang had circled around it a few times, squinting so as to see better, was a tent and in that tent was a fire and the shadow cast by the fire was that of a large cat. Yang almost hurled herself off her horse, sprinting towards the copse of trees after yelling at her horse, “I’ll be right back!”

She had taken only one step inside the copse when she was punched in the chest with such force that she flew backwards, slamming into the one of the trees with a solid thud. Yang gasped in surprise and pain as her back arched in agony, barely comprehending that Blake was stalking towards her. The vampire’s eyes were orange with fury, her fangs slipping over her bottom lip as she purposefully put one foot in front of the other. Yang felt her blood run cold as she saw the look in Blake’s eyes, staring at Yang like she was food instead of a friend. 

Yang had only just managed to push herself upright when Blake grabbed her throat, hauling her up and lifting her above her head like a doll. “I told you not to come back,” she hissed and Yang’s eyes went wide in terror, her hands grabbing at Blake’s fingers as though she could force her to let go, but she gained no purchase. Blake’s grip tightened and Yang whispered as she felt her throat start to close. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you.” 

“Th-there-there’s a-” Yang gasped out, feeling her lungs start to burn from lack of air. Blake rolled her eyes and loosened her grip, Yang gasping desperately for air. She took three long, slow breaths, breaking out into coughs between each of them, before she was able to choke out, “There’s another hunter in the village.” 

Blake’s eyes flooded back to amber and she narrowed her eyes. “What did you say?”

“There’s a vampire hunter,” Yang wheezed, “a professional, she said. She had white hair and these crazy blue eyes-”

“A Schnee,” Blake said quietly and Yang nodded quickly. Blake released her nad she collapsed to the ground, choking on air as she took heavy, long breaths, her lungs filling as though she had never breathed before in her life. “Which Schnee?”

“W-what?” Yang asked and Blake snarled,

“Which Schnee was it? Was it Winter Schnee? Did she have a saber and a crossbow?” She knelt down in front of Yang until they were eye to eye, Blake’s face set in a hideous fury. 

“Weiss,” Yang choked out and Blake growled,

“I knew you would attract too much attention, training you was a bad idea from the start.” She glanced out of the copse, towards Yang’s horse and groaned, “And now you’ve all but led her to my hiding place. Oh, well done Yang, you’re an excellent partner.” Yang tried to form a response but fell into another coughing fit, doubling over and hacking on the ground as she struggled to breathe. “You know,” Blake continued, “I thought I could trust you. I really did. I thought that maybe, just maybe, I’d found somebody I could get to know, who wouldn’t wind up chasing me out of town.” Blake knelt back down and glared at Yang, her eyes boring holes into her skull from her fury, “and now look: you lead a professional vampire hunter to my doorstep, you don’t know when to stay away, and you looked at the one thing you should’ve known never to touch!”

“I-I didn’t read it-” Yang wheezed out and Blake rolled her eyes, standing up and walking away.

“Now I have to move again, thanks to you,” she grumbled and Yang pushed herself upright at least enough to stare after her, tears beginning to fall from her eyes, her heart feeling like it was being torn from its cage.

“Please!” she choked out, “I didn’t look at it, I swear. I just saw it on the table, I would nev-” she started coughing again, pounding on her chest to clear her lungs and speak again. When she could finally speak once more, it was more of a wheeze than speech. “I would never do that, I swear. I’m just...I’m trying to warn you about Weiss Schnee.” She pushed herself to her knees, seeing Blake throwing things into a travel bag, her heavy chest already resting on her shoulder like kindling. “If you never wanna see me again, I get it,” Yang said, “I’ll stay away. I just needed you to be safe.” 

Blake froze, her back to Yang. When she turned back, just a small glance over her shoulder, her gaze was no longer furious, only sad and far away. “Get out of here, Yang.”

Yang opened her mouth to speak, only to snap it closed. She struggled to her feet and stumbled out of the copse, falling down the hill and rolling across the sand in a heap. The tears were starting to fall properly now, streaming down her face and wetting the sand like a storm, but Yang pushed herself to her feet and pushed. She mounted her horse and, with one last long look at the copse, her heart broke, feeling like she had been stabbed in the chest and had her stomach ripped open all at once. 

Then she clicked her tongue to get the horse moving, and rode home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those pesky vampire hunters, always showing up when you least expect them.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	12. Day Twelve-Rebel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being rejected by Blake, Yang spends the next few months recovering on the farmstead.

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months. Soon, nearly half a year had passed. Yang barely remembered any of it, the days blurring into a solid mass of time that was so monotonous, so similar to every time that had come before it, that she almost thought she’d never met Blake to begin with. 

The attacks had stopped. Nobody had gone missing in months, and news was beginning to filter up to the farmhouse about an Atlesian mercenary who was growing increasingly impatient with Coco Adel. Most folks thought the Atlesian was going to leave soon. Others were taking bets on who would win the fight between her and Coco. Smart money was on the Atlesian, but most folks didn’t know that. Yang had tossed a handful of Lien at Junior to throw in the pot after too many hours mucking out the horse stalls and too many tankards of ale. 

Her family was growing increasingly concerned for her, Yang knew it. She would have to if one of her family members had been spending every day in a haze, waking up, barely eating, doing chores, and collapsing back into bed without so much as a grunt of a greeting. She knew how concerned they were, how much they wanted her to say something, to just talk to her, but Yang couldn't bring herself to care. They didn’t understand, they  _ couldn’t _ understand. So she set to her routine. Wake up. Eat. Work. Sleep.

And so the days rolled on. 

As spring began to turn into summer, Yang leaned on her shovel as she took a quick break from preparing the crop fields for the next round of seeds. She didn’t hear the woman as she approached, only turning with a disinterested stare when the Atlesian Weiss Schnee called out, “Mercenary.”

Yang stared at her blankly for a long moment, then grunted, “What do you want?” It was the most she’d spoken in weeks. 

“You look terrible,” Weiss Schnee said, her lips curling into a smirk, “Broken heart?”

“What do you want?” Yang asked again. Weiss Schnee’s smirk fell away, replaced by a practiced mask of professionalism, her lips set in a thin line. 

“I need information. I’ve been working with Miss Adel for the past few months, with little success. You’re the only other person I’ve met on this island that might be able to give me some information.”

Yang snorted derisively and yanked her shovel out of the ground. Weiss Schnee leapt backwards, hand flying to her rapier, but Yang ignored her and began to march back to the stables. “Might help if you were chasing something that existed,” she called over her shoulder and Weiss Schnee’s neutral expression flashed to a disappointed frown for a quick moment, almost too fast to see. “Vampires? Really?” Yang continued, glancing over her shoulder to see Weiss Schnee following her to the stables, “And people say that Patch folk are born stupid.” 

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Weiss Schnee said sharply. Yang let the insult wash over and around her, digging into the much in the stables without a response. “There is a vampire on Patch, mercenary. I know there is.” Yang carried more manure to the growing pile nearby and Weiss Schnee wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Do you have to do that right now?”

“Do you have to interrupt me when I’m trying to work?” Yang asked and Weiss Schnee rolled her eyes in contempt. 

“You have information on the vampire and I need it. She’s part of a pack that my sister and I broke apart months ago, and I’ve been sent to mop her up.” Yang paused for just a fraction of a second, a hair’s breadth pause in her normal motions, but she had a feeling that nothing got past Weiss Schnee. So that was how Blake had known about the Schnees, how she had come to be free of her servitude to the one who turned her. The pieces were coming together for Yang, but she had no intention of giving Weiss Schnee any pieces of the puzzle. “Where is she?”

“The vampire’s a she now?” Yang drawled, her confidence laid on as thick as her accent in an attempt to drive Weiss Schnee off. Instead it had the opposite effect, and a triumphant glimmer appeared in Weiss Schnee’s eye. Yang turned away to shovel more manure, already knowing that she had laid it on too thickly, that Weiss Schnee had seen it as an act, but she made no move to pounce on that yet. She had more traps to lay and Yang had more to walk into. 

“Indeed. She’s the only one that my sister hasn’t accounted for. We’re not sure how or why she’s on Patch, but she’s here. I can feel it.” The surety in Weiss Schnee’s voice was starting to grate on Yang’s nerves, the absolute certainty that she was in the right and that her quarry needed to be destroyed.

“If your sister found the others, shouldn't you be busy hunting them down?” Yang asked and Weiss Schnee sighed.

“In time. We need to make sure this one doesn’t spread their curse to anyone, try to expand the pack. Once she’s dealt with, we’ll finish off the others.”

“For a professional, it’s sure taking a lot of time to hunt down one vampire.”

Yang turned to see Weiss Schnee’s expression harden into a glare, but unlike in the bar Yang didn’t feel like shrinking away. Now Weiss Schnee was directly threatening Blake. Nobody hurt the people that Yang cared about, no matter who they were. “She’s proving difficult to track,” Weiss Schnee hissed, “The attacks stopped, so I can only assume she’s turned to animal blood.”

“Or maybe she left.”

“I’d know,” Weiss snapped, “No, she’s out there sucking the blood out of deer and rabbits. All the better for me, I suppose. She’ll be too weak to fight back once I find her.” Yang furrowed her brow and Weiss Schnee’s glare intensified, almost shifting into a snarl as a smile crept into the edges. “Didn’t she tell you that? Vampires surviving on animal blood is like humans surviving on tree bark.”

“No, she didn’t,” Yang murmured, then her eyes snapped open wide as Weiss Schnee’s snarl grew into a victorious smile. Her hand drifted to her rapier and Yang’s fell to her hip, passing through the hammer that was still up in the loft where it had lain for months. She snarled and gripped her shovel like a maul, preparing for a fight. Weiss Schnee narrowed her eyes and began to slide her rapier out of its scabbard and Yang slid a foot back, settling into a fighting stance, but her muscles were tired from work and unused to fighting after so long of doing so little. Just before Weiss drew her blade entirely and the two women flew at each other, there was a call of,

“Yang! Package for you!” Yang stood up straight as Weiss Schnee slid her rapier back into its scabbard. She looked over the vampire hunter’s shoulders to see Ruby riding a horse up the hill, waving a small brown package in the air. Weiss Schnee turned on her heel and began to march away, only pausing to give Yang a look that clearly said, ‘This isn’t over’. Yang shot her one right back, trying to convey the phrase ‘Fuck off’ in her expression as much as possible. 

“Hey Rubes,” Yang said as Ruby walked up to her, hopping off the horse and beginning to undo the straps on its tack. “A package?”

“Yeah, postmaster said it was just left on the doorstep,” Ruby said with a shrug, “Had your name on it though, so she held onto it for whoever came down next.” She passed the package over to Yang as Yang leaned the shovel on the stables. The package was small, a box of some kind, and Yang gently unwrapped it to reveal a tiny copper lockbox. The keyhole was tiny and ornate, surrounded Yang realized with mounting shock, by the elegant design of a belladonna flower. “So what is it?”

“D-dunno,” Yang stammered, “I-I don’t know.”

“Is it from Blake?” Ruby asked in a singsong voice and Yang felt her heart twist into a knot at the mention of Blake, at the memory of that one night where she had allowed herself to truly understand that she had fallen in love with her. 

“Yeah,” Yang said, “It’s from her. But there’s no key, so I-I don’t know what she wants from me.”

“Gimme,” Ruby said, snatching the box from Yang’s trembling hands. She plopped down onto the dirt and stuck out her tongue in concentration she fished around in her pouch before pulling out some tools that Yang had never seen before. She set them into the lock and Yang watched in confusion as she worked, fingers flying as she picked the lock with such speed and precision that Yang would’ve sworn that she had been picking locks since she was a child. Within moments there was a satisfying click and the box cracked open, Ruby letting out a satisfied sigh. She handed it back to Yang with a shrug and a murmured, “There you go.”

“How did you know how to do that?” Yang asked with a confused glance at her little sister, who shrugged again.

“Qrow taught me.”

“Of course he did,” Yang said with a sigh, then popped open the box. Ruby shot to her feet to peer into it with her, ever curious no matter how personal the context. The box contained a note, a strip of purple cloth, and a claw that Yang assumed was from Shroud, as it was nearly as long as her finger. She picked up the note, mumbling aloud as she read it. “Yang...I know that you didn’t read the book. I’m sorry that I acted the way I did. It’s very personal to me and the thought that-the one who turned me, who made me into a vampire tried to take that book from me. It’s the only written record of my family left in the world. I won’t risk it being destroyed or taken away. I’m sorry. What I did was out of line. I was every bit the monster people think I am. I can’t ever take that back.” Yang took a long breath, fighting back tears as she read on, forcing herself to continue, “I’m leaving Patch. I tried to shake that vampire hunter by going after animals, but all that did was make me weak. You won’t see me again. I’ll outlive you, or the vampire hunter will catch me. We should’ve taken her on together, Yang. I’m sorry. I’ll miss you. Wishing you all the luck in the world-Blake.”

Yang collapsed to her knees, covering her mouth with one hand as she read the note over and over again, her breaths growing frantic, the note shaking in her hand. Ruby leaned onto her, wrapping an arm around her comfortingly and Yang turned, burying her head into her sister’s chest. They stayed there for a long while as evening rolled around, Yang bawling her eyes out as Ruby held her. Eventually, Yang felt as though she’d cried herself dry and leaned back just a hair. Ruby gave her a hug and murmured, “She doesn’t mean that, right?”

“About being a vampire?” Yang asked, her voice a slurred mumble as she struggled to speak. 

“Nah, I knew about that. Wasn’t hard to figure out, she’s got teeth that are, like, three inches long,” Ruby said with a shrug. “Dad told me to let it go, but you know me. I’m a rebel.” Yang choked out a laugh and Ruby hugged her tight again. “I meant about leaving. She...she wouldn’t do that, right?” 

“I don’t know, Ruby,” Yang said softly, “She probably does. It’d be safer for her to leave.”

“But you’re going after her, right?” Ruby asked and Yang furrowed her brow in confusion, looking up at her sister. “She loves you. You love her. Right?”

“Ruby it’s not that simple,” Yang said slowly, “No matter what I feel, she doesn’t feel the same way.”

“Yeah she does,” Ruby said, confusion washing over her face, “She melted into your arms, Yang. You two kissed. She loves you. What kind of claw is this?”

“She doe-What?” Yang asked as Ruby picked up Shroud’s claw, examining it in the fading light. 

“What kind of claw is this? It’s not a bear claw. It almost looks like a big cat.”

“It is a big cat,” Yang said, confusion carrying the words out of her mouth more than purpose, “Blake has a big cat named Shroud, she called her a panther I think.”

“We’re finding her,” Ruby said firmly, hauling Yang to her feet.

“We? What we?” Yang asked and Ruby rolled her eyes, already turning to go and dragging Yang behind her.

“If you think I’m missing out on the chance to study an animal I’ve never seen before, then you need to go back to bed Yang. It’s like you don’t even  _ know _ me,” Ruby said firmly, her pace only increasing as she walked. 

“Wha-I don’t-Do you even have a scroll and some charcoal?” Yang asked. Ruby squealed and ran over to the saddlebag she had taken off her horse, then ran back to Yang, slinging the bag over her shoulders. 

“Yep! Let’s go!” With that she ran off towards town. Yang watched her go, a fond smile forming on her face until she realized that if she didn’t go with her then Tai and Summer were going to read her the riot act.

“Fucking hell,” she grumbled, “Ruby! Wait up!” Yang tore down the hill after her sister, the two of them sprinting back towards town and whatever awaited them there. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go! Run! Save your catgirl gf, Yang!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	13. Day Thirteen-Spider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Yang races to find Blake before it's too late, Weiss goes on the hunt.

There weren’t many places in Patch for the weary traveller to stay. Most people who came to visit had family on the island, an estranged cousin at the very least, who might put them up for a while. Even the merchants who traveled from the City of Vale to Patch were related to someone on the island. It was said that most of Vale was related to someone on Patch, if you went back far enough. 

The same could not be said for Weiss Schnee. Even if she had been from Vale, the last thing she would have wanted was to see her family. Her relationship with her father was strained on the best of days, and downright hostile on the rest of them. On top of that, she hadn’t spoken much with her mother ever since she had taken to drinking, and her brother was hiding with some farm boy he had become fast friends with to escape their father. 

That only left her older sister Winter, and she was halfway across the world carving a swathe through Haven. The vampire pack that went by the moniker ‘White Fang’ had long ago been identified as a threat by the Atlesian Vampire Hunter Organization, but not a large enough threat to bother sending a properly equipped team to deal with it. So Winter, due to no small encouragement from Weiss, had made it the Schnee’s personal goal to destroy the vampires and any trace of their corruption. 

It hadn’t taken much to find them, vampires in control of a town like the White Fang were rarely allowed themselves the luxury of caution. Even if the terrified neighbors of Kuryoyuri had started to whisper of monsters in the dark, horrifying beasts that drank the blood of their victims, the Schnee sisters had been closing in. Finding their hideout, a cave in the hills, had been as easy as finding a bakery; simply follow the smell of blood. It didn’t take a bloodhound to find a vampire nest, just a few minutes downwind usually did the trick. 

The ambush had been textbook and simple, a flurry of silver tipped crossbow bolts from Winter and Weiss’ rapier for anyone who tried to sally out. The fight had been over almost before it began, and soon a dozen vampires were turning to dust in the evening sun, the handful who remained scattered to the wind with grievous wounds. 

Weiss had caught the split in tracks a day later, and it had troubled her. Everyone in the White Fang had been turned by their lead, one Adam Taurus, and they were all still in servitude to him. One of them breaking off was either the sign of a level of strategy that Adam clearly didn’t possess, or they had gotten lucky, ingesting some of his blood and breaking free. It was this one that Weiss had been sent after, with Winter in hot pursuit of the main pack. 

According to her letter, sent anonymously through a series of couriers in the employ of the Spider herself, Miss Malachite, the pack had gotten up to their old tricks, turning those they saw worthy and feasting the rest of the time. Winter had made sure to show them the error of their ways and soon she had the pack playing defensively. It was embarrassing how this single vampire had eluded Weiss when her sister was cleaving the pack apart on her own. 

It was equally embarrassing that her sister had decided to send Weiss help that she certainly didn’t need. Now that the vampire was free of Adam Taurus’ bullheaded foolishness, she was far more clever. That wouldn’t keep her safe for much longer, Weiss knew. Now that she knew that Yang Xiao Long was the vampire’s thrall, she could interrogate her properly, as long as that annoying sister stayed out of the way. Perhaps she was a thrall as well, or the whole family was. It didn’t matter much to Weiss, the methods were secondary to the victory. Whatever she had to do to destroy this vampire was good enough for her. 

That didn’t mean she had to be happy that Winter had seen fit to send her aid that she hadn’t asked for. The Malachite Twins weren’t even vampire hunters, they were criminals and bad ones at that. Weiss didn’t like working with mercenaries, no matter their background, but being assigned a pair of criminals to help her who would just get in the way was an insult. 

Currently the Twins were busy chatting up a storm with the owner of the seediest tavern on Patch, perhaps all of Remnant, while Weiss was trying to ignore them. 

“...but we never got caught for that one,” Melanie Malachite, dressed as ever in her red leather armor was saying. Her sister, in white leather armor, was nodding knowingly. 

“It was a good haul that one,” Miltia Malachite said, “Nearly four hundred pounds of gold and another six in furs. Made a tidy profit.” Miltia had always been the more humble of the two. The score they were talking about was one that was legendary even in Atlas, King Lionheart’s personal treasury raided without so much as an alarm being raised. Weiss pushed the thought from her head, instead focusing on her notes that were spread across the bar in front of her. The vampire was going to make a move soon, they had to. Weiss planned to be there when she did, and had been patrolling the town every night, no matter what Coco Adel thought of her. Weiss had all but put her out of a job since she’d arrived, and the former soldier was bitterly cooped up in her house while Weiss got the real work done. 

“Really?” Junior said, leaning on the bar, “I’ve been looking to get into some bigger business myself. Maybe we can strike a deal?”

“Maybe we could. We’ll have to talk about it after we’re done dealing with the princess over there,” Melanie snorted, jerking her head in Weiss’ direction, and Weiss’ grip around her notes tightened just a hair. The Malachites had started to grate on her ever since they arrived two weeks ago, and Weiss was itching to either finish up the hunt or have one of them suffer an unfortunately fatal accident. Vampire hunting was a dangerous business, after all. 

“What are you three up to anyways? I see you out in the streets every night,” Junior said and Weiss stiffened slightly in her chair.

“We’re out hunting a va-” Melanie yelped as Miltia jabbed her in the stomach with her elbow.

“A very important person,” Miltia finished, a hard edge to her voice, “Malachite business, I’m afraid.” 

Weiss looked over to see Junior give the Twins a look, his gaze flickering with nervousness for just a moment, then he nodded slowly and said, “Right. Well, once that’s all done, swing by. We’ll figure something out.”

“Gladly,” Miltia said and Melanie nodded quickly, shooting her sister a glare, which was returned in kind. Weiss held back a snort at that. The Malachites were two bit thieves, but they would never stoop so low as to work with someone like Junior. He was a small fish, they were medium sized, at least. Weiss’ expression twisted into one of disgust at the mangled metaphor and resolved to spend more time in the upper echelon of Atlas once she returned to her homeland. Being in the country was bad for her mental faculties, it seemed. Putting the thought aside, she dove back into her notes, waiting for night to fall. 

The moon wheeled high in the sky above, casting the streets in a dim, unearthly light. Weiss tugged the hood about her head tighter. It was one of the only things she disliked about her hair, it made her stand out like a beacon in the night. Melanie and Miltia were lucky, she grumbled, black hair and black cloaks letting them blend into the shadows like wraiths. 

The three stuck to the shadows, slipping between alleyways and dodging through the moonlight like smoke. It wouldn’t help, Weiss knew. Vampires could see as well in the dark as a human could at dusk, and Faunus vampires like the one she was hunting could see in pitch black like it was a bright sunny day. Still, it gave Melanie and Miltia the courage to step out into the dark with a monster of legend stalking the town. 

True, the Malachite Twins were really just glorified bait, but if it meant that Winter got to hunt with impunity in Mistral, then Weiss supposed she could put it with it. After all the vampire was weak, months of feeding on animal blood would have left them infirm and desperate. Tonight was the night, Weiss could feel it.

And it seemed that her suspicions were correct, if the figure hobbling towards the edge of town in a black cloak was anything to go by. Even if that hadn’t been suspicious enough, the huge black cat and the lockbox they were lugging behind them were enough to make Weiss smile with grim satisfaction.

She signaled the Malachites, a quick twist of her wrist and a jerk of her head towards the figure. Melanie and Miltia leaned out of their hiding spots, a bit too far to be considered professional, and nodded in understanding. Now was the time. 

Weiss led the charge, her rapier out and a battle cry held in her heart as she silently raced towards the figure. She reeled back to thrust her silver blade into their heart, only to realize too late that the vampire had come to a halt. But now she was committed, the strike was already being made, and Weiss bellowed as she thrust forwards. The vampire snarled and twisted, the blade sailing by her harmlessly, her amber eyes glowing in the night and her fangs flashing as she bared them at her attackers. 

The Malachites balked at the sigh, gasps caught in their throats, but Weiss was no amateur. She dove forwards, attacking precise, well practiced strikes, but the vampire was just as skilled, every strike avoided perfectly. Or nearly perfectly, Weiss realized with a dark satisfaction. Her blade grew closer to its target every time she struck, and the vampire must truly have been weak to be desperately trying to survive this attack rather than tearing Weiss limb from limb. 

She didn’t dare glance back at the Malachites for fear of a counter attack, but from the sound she could hear them cautiously trying to deal with the giant cat the vampire kept as a pet. “Get around it!” Melanie shouted and Miltia cursed,

“I’m trying to, it’s fucking fast Melanie!”

“Well be fas-Hey, what-” Melanie was cut off by a solid thud and she babbled something about donkeys before the sound of her collapsing and Miltia screaming at someone,

“I’ll fucking kill you for that!”

Now Weiss did turn, even as her instincts screamed at her not to. Melanie was on the ground, pinned underneath the young woman who had interrupted her and Yang’s duel up at the farmhouse, while Yang was busy fighting Miltia, her hammer flashing in the night as Miltia screamed in rage, trying to cut her stomach open with a falchion. 

That moment of distraction was all the opening the vampire needed and Weiss turned too late to stop her. It felt like she’d been gored by a bull as the vampire punched her in the chest, and Weiss felt her feet leave the ground as she sailed through the air, landing in a heap passed the rest of the fight. Miltia shrieked as Weiss flew by her, her guard dropping just enough for Yang to smack her sword away before slugging her across the face. Miltia spun in place once, then collapsed to the ground. 

As Weiss struggled to her feet she saw Yang run up to the vampire, the big cat not far behind. “Ruby, c’mon!” Yang yelled, wrapping an arm around the vampire. The girl from before leapt off of Melanie and ran after them, the three hobbling away into the darkness. Weiss got to her feet and made to give chase, only to gasp and collapse back to her knees as her chest exploded into pain. 

“Fuck,” she mumbled, then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed into darkness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just realized how many "falls asleep to end the chapter" moments there are in this fic. It's not a bug, it's a feature!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	14. Day Fourteen-Tongue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the fight with Weiss, Yang desperately looks for a way to save Blake from starvation.

Yang all but kicked in the door to the farmhouse, making Summer shriek and Tai yelp in surprise. She hauled in Blake, who was leaning heavily against her, Ruby and Shroud not far behind. “Dad! Mom! We need help!”

“Oh gods, Yang, what happened?” Tai exclaimed, leaping to his feet and running over to help. He slung an arm under Blake and helped carry her to the fire, laying her down on the blankets that Ruby had laid out for herself earlier that day. “What happened to her, where were you? And what is  _ that _ ?” Yang glanced over her shoulder to see Tai pointing at Shroud, who had started pacing back and forth nervously, massive paws pounding the floor as she did so.

“That’s Blake’s cat, it’s not important right now,” Yang snapped, grabbing a pillow for Blake’s head. They lay her down on her back, Blake’s eyes wide and flickering from place to place, the edges a furious, hungry orange. “Can you get some water, some-some-I don’t know, she’s-”

“What does she need, Yang?” Tai asked and Yang fell back in defeat. Blake moaned and rolled over, covering her head. Physically, she was fine. The fight with Weiss Schnee and those two other women hadn’t harmed her at all, but other than that she was falling apart. Her skin was pale and gaunt, sagging as though a thin sheet over her bones, and her eyes had started to tinge orange more often, flitting between person to person and staying fixated on their necks, their wrists, anywhere there was exposed skin. She was starving, and Yang knew the only way to save her. She also knew that she could never say it aloud.

“I-I can’t-” Yang whimpered.

“You can’t what?”

“I can’t tell you!” Yang wailed as Blake curled into a ball. Shroud moaned in vicarious agony with her, even as Ruby knelt next to her, whispering encouragement into her ear. “I promised not to tell anyone.”

“Well there has to be something we can do,” Tai said crouching next to Yang, his hands hovering over Blake uncertainly. “Were you in a fight? Did she get injured?”

“I-I can’t-” Yang blubbered and Tai snapped,

“Talk to me, Yang! I can’t help her if I don’t know what to do.” Yang collapsed to the ground, sobbing, her tears streaming down her cheeks. Tai might have continued, had Ruby not said,

“Dad, mom, c’mon. Let’s go outside.”

“Ruby this isn’t the time to go look at birds,” Tai grumbled and there was a shift in the air, a subtle drop in temperature.

“Dad,” Ruby said firmly, sounding much more like an adult than Tai ever had or than Yang could ever hope to, “Let’s go outside. Yang can take care of Blake.” 

“But she-” Tai started to protest, only for Summer to finally speak, pushing herself to her feet.

“Let’s go with Ruby, dear.” It was all that needed to be said. Tai sighed in a mixture of exasperation and defeat, then started to stand. He turned to say something to Yang, only to stop and sigh heavily. Yang nodded slowly. She understood what he wanted to say, the implicit ‘Be safe’ that was meant for both her and Blake. With that, Ruby led her parents out the door, closing it behind them. Shroud kept pacing by the dining room table, snarling at the door and then whining as she saw Blake.

Yang cupped the back of Blake’s head gently, murmuring, “Hey. Can you turn over for me?”

“No,” Blake said softly, almost too softly to hear, “I can’t look at you. I’m scared.”

“Scared of what, Blake?” Yang whispered.

“I might try to-to-” Blake let out a sharp breath, drawing a whimper from Shroud, before gritting her teeth and finishing, “I might try to feed on you.”

“Blake, you need to feed. You’re dying.”

“I won’t!” Blake cried, burying her head in her arms, “I can’t-Not you, Yang. Anyone but you.” 

Yang felt her heart break, her tears wetting the floor beneath her, even as she hardened her resolve. Blake needed to feed. Yang couldn’t lose, not now, not after all this. They were-were-they were  _ something _ and Yang so badly wanted to find out what that something was. She wanted to know Blake as so much more than just her teacher, wanted to walk around Patch with her and not worry about training, about hunting. She wanted more nights like the one where Blake had come up to the farmhouse, where they could all just be a family together. Gods, she wanted that so badly with Blake. “You need to,” she said softly and Blake shook her head with a whimper.

“If I start, I might not stop. I’m there, Yang. I’m-I might-gods, just run.” Blake’s voice shifted to one that was equal parts firm and horrified, and the dichotomy there almost made Yang break down entirely. “Run before I hurt you.”

“You won’t,” Yang said. She didn’t know where the words came from, nor the resolve with which she said them, but the moment they were in the air, she knew they were true. Blake could control herself. She would never hurt Yang, or her family, or anyone she cared about. “I trust you.”

“Yang you don’t understand!” Blake wailed, curling tighter into a ball, “I-I might-”

Yang stroked her cheek gently and Blake stiffened. “Blake...I know you. You’re my teacher. You’re one of my best friends. You wouldn’t hurt us.” Blake whimpered again and Yang stroked her cheek once more, wiping away a fat teardrop. “You’re in control of this, Blake, not the hunger. You can keep control of yourself. I know you can.”

Blake turned her head slightly, just enough to look Yang in the eye, and that moment of control seemed to be enough to convince her to turn over completely. “Who can I even feed on, Yang?” she asked.

“Me.”

“No,” Blake said firmly and Yang sighed, her expression gentle as she said,

“I’m the only option, Blake. You’re in no shape to go hunting, and most of the criminals left town already. Please, I’m offering this to you. I want you to.” Yang’s heart nearly broke all over again when Blake murmured,

“That’s what I said when he turned me. He was-”

“A monster,” Yang said firmly and Blake gasped lightly, “Adam was a monster. You’re not, Blake. You’re caring, you’re kind, you look after people. You looked after me when I needed help, you care enough about everyone around you, strangers that you’re never gonna meet, you care so much that you starved yourself to protect them. You barely survive on the worst of the worst, and bear the title of monster like a badge of honor. You  _ care _ , Blake.” She stroked a lock of hair behind Blake’s ear and pressed her forehead against hers. “Please, Blake. Let me take care of you.”

Blake’s shuddering breaths almost covered up her small, whispered, “Okay.” Yang nodded, really more like nuzzling against Blake’s forehead, and Blake murmured, “This is going to hurt.”

“I’m ready,” Yang said and Blake shook her head.

“No, you’re not. I’m so fucking sorry, Yang.” Before Yang could respond, Blake turned her head as though to kiss her neck. There was a soft breath on her neck that made Yang shudder, then she felt Blake’s tongue tasting her skin as she pressed her lips against her.

Then there was nothing but blinding pain. Yang screeched as Blake’s fangs dug into her body, her vision fading for a moment as all her breath flooded out of her, her hands scrabbling uselessly as Blake fed. Even knowing that she was doing this willingly, her body acted on instinct, trying to pry Blake’s fangs away. She stiffened her body, equal parts as a response to the pain and also to stop herself from making Blake doubt herself, as her fingers and toes started to go cold. 

Yang fell backwards, landing in a heap and Blake followed. The cold spread up her fingers to her hands, her toes to her feet, then her forearms and calves.

Then it stopped. The pain faded as Blake wrenched herself away, blood dripping from her mouth and Yang’s neck. As soon as she had pushed herself away she leapt back on top of Yang, draping a blanket over her. She tore off a chunk of her shirt, wrapping it around Yang’s neck in a makeshift bandage, then said, “Shroud!” The cat perked up and trotted over, sniffing curiously at Yang’s neck. Yang could only listen as her vision flashed from color to black with each blink. “Lay on her legs, warm her up,” Blake whispered. Yang looked over to see Shroud carefully step over her, then plopped down on her legs. The warmth was incredible, like a fire contained in a single space, and Yang hummed happily, her thoughts delirious.

“You...you feels better?” she slurred and Blake let out a sound that was half a laugh, half a cry. 

“How are you still looking after me?” she asked softly and Yang shrugged as best as she was able.

“Jus’ lookin’ after a friend...I loves you, Blake. You know that? You...you’re...loves you...,” she mumbled, then her eyes slid shut and she faded into darkness. Right before she drifted off to a dreamless slumber, she could’ve sworn she heard Blake whisper,

“I love you too, Yang.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The classic scene from vampire romance, made better with Bees!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	15. Day Fifteen-Domestic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of feeding Blake, Yang finally comes to terms with her feelings.

Birds chirped outside, the sound flowing in through the window and cupping Yang’s mind as she began to wake up. Her neck felt like it had been torn open and crushed at the same time, two competing kinds of pain that refused to mesh nicely, battling one another for dominance. She moaned and rolled over, cupping her neck as though to block out the pain. Someone gasped and then someone else said, “Mom, she’s awake.” 

Someone rushed over to Yang, pressing a warm cloth to her neck, “Oh, sunflower,” Summer whispered, “My sunflower, you’re okay.” 

Yang opened her eyes slowly, the world a blurry mess of color and shape, the only thing in focus her mother’s silver eyes. “Where...where’s…”

“Tai is outside, trying to keep some Atlesian from breaking down our door,” Summer murmured. Yang winced at the fact that she hadn’t thought of her father first, only of Blake. The vampire was nowhere to be found. “That woman’s been out there for hours, trying to get in and see you,” Summer continued, “She keeps going on about you like you’re the only person on this island, how hosting a vampire isn’t right for a domestic setting.” 

“Where’s Blake?” Yang mumbled and Summer’s gaze hardened, her jaw set tightly and her lips in a thin line.

“Blake?” she hissed, “That... _ monster _ is-”

“Mom!” Ruby said and Yang’s head lolled to the side to see her sister at Summer’s side, glaring at her mother with a hint of nervousness playing at the edge of her eyes. “She’s not a monster.”

“Look what she did to your sister!” Summer snapped and Ruby recoiled, aghast.

“Yang saved her life, mom. She chose to do this.”

“That doesn’t-” Summer tried to interrupt, but Ruby continued on undeterred,

“Just like how Blake chose not to only take what she needed. A monster wouldn’t do that, mom. I’ve met Blake, you’ve met Blake. If she was a monster she would’ve just eaten us all when she came for dinner.” Ruby’s glare hardened and her silver eyes flashed in the soft firelight, almost glowing with fury. Summer shrank back a hair and Ruby placed herself between Summer and Yang. “Blake wouldn’t harm her. She wouldn’t harm any of us.”

“But-but she’s-” Summer started and Ruby shook her head firmly.

“Don’t say it. She and Yang have been hunting vampires for months now. It’s only cause of that Atlesian that they had to stop, that Blake had to feed on Yang. If it wasn’t for her then none of this would’ve happened.”

Summer slumped to the floor in disbelief, her gaze, flickering between Yang and Ruby. After a long moment, she sighed and buried her head in her hands. Ruby glanced back at Yang with a soft smile, then stood. 

“I’m gonna go back dad up, get that Atlesian off our backs,” she said, “You stay here and rest, okay?” She looked at Summer meaningfully. “Both of you.” As she stepped out the door, Yang flopped back to the floor and drifted back into unconsciousness. 

She woke next to a knock on the door. Ruby started awake, jolting upright from where she had been sleeping next to Yang on the maine floor of the house. As quietly as she could, she crept to the door, snatching a knife off the kitchen counter as she went. Tucking the knife behind her back, she cracked the door open, peering out into the night.

“Oh,” she murmured, “C’mon in.” She opened the door a crack further and someone slipped inside, covered in a black cloak. Yang sat up with a groan, trying to keep her voice as low as possible, only to gasp aloud when the figure stood up and threw their hood back.

Blake’s eyes glittered like gold in the moonlight as Ruby closed the door behind her. Her lip trembled and her legs were weak as she murmured, “Yang, I...I…”

Yang lifted up one arm in a welcoming hug and smiled. Blake let out a heavy sigh of relief and ran over, collapsing into Yang’s arms. Yang melted into her embrace, the two falling over and tumbling into a pile of limbs and hugs as they cuddled on the floor until there was no more room between them. “H-hey,” Yang croaked out and Blake smiled, nuzzling her forehead against Yang’s.

“I’m so fucking sorry,” Blake whispered, “I-I’m so-”

Yang shushed her gently, stroking a lock of hair behind her ear. She leaned back enough to stare into Blake’s eyes, gentle lilac staring into anxious amber. “Don’t be sorry.” She placed a finger on Blake’s lips, silencing another round of apologies, “You’re okay. You fed, you’re safe. I chose this, Blake.”

“I hurt you,” Blake mumbled, in such a way that Yang knew it would’ve been a wail of anguish had they not been keeping quiet. “I promised I wouldn’t. In the copse and then with-with-”

“I chose this, Blake,” Yang repeated, “It was one of the worst decisions of my life,” she added and Blake laughed softly, “But I still chose to to do it. I’d choose it a thousand times if it meant you were safe. I forgive you, Blake.”

Blake choked back a sob and buried her head into the crook of Yang’s neck, thankfully the opposite side from where she had been bitten. “What did I do to deserve you.”

“I don’t know,” Yang murmured, “But being as gorgeous as you are helps a lot.” Blake snorted into Yang’s neck and Yang snickered as the motion tickled her neck. 

They stayed snuggled together on the floor for a long while, Yang drifting in and out of a fitful sleep. Every time she woke up from the pain in her neck, she realized Blake was there, holding her gently, curled up against her. Beyond her was Ruby, bundled up in blankets. They were here, together. They were safe. As she woke up again, the sun beginning to break through the trees in the east, she realized that Blake was staring at her, a tender expression in her eyes. 

“Hey Blake,” she murmured, her lips heavy from sleep.

“Hey Yang,” Blake whispered. She leaned forwards and nuzzled her forehead against Yang’s, which Yang returned in kind. 

“Sun’s coming up,” Yang said softly, “You should go.”

“I can survive the sun, Yang,” Blake said and Yang laughed softly.

“Not that, my mom will be up soon. She’s not a fan of yours, Blake.”

“I picked up on that, thanks,” Blake said dryly and Yang snickered, nuzzling their foreheads together again. “But you’re right, I should go. Shroud will be getting lonely.” Blake sat up and stretched, letting out a pleased hum as her back cracked. As she stood, her expression changed to one of concern and she murmured, “Yang?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you mean what you said?”

“About choosing this?” Yang asked and Blake shook her head, turning to meet her eyes. Blake’s amber depths were so full of fear and loneliness that Yang almost missed the new emotion therein, something so strong and so alien to Blake that it almost shocked Yang into silence: hope. 

“No,” Blake whispered, “About loving me.” 

“I do love you Blake,” Yang murmured and Blake nodded slowly in response. “I know it’s dumb and you’ll outlive me and it won’t ever work but I...I love you. I want to be in love with you, Blake. I want to just be two young women in love for a while.”

“Young is relative,” Blake murmured and Yang laughed. “I need to think about this, okay?” 

“Okay,” Yang said softly and Blake smiled weakly. “You okay?”

Blake’s smile flickered and then she sighed heavily. “I will be. I just...I’m scared, Yang.”

“Why?”

“Because I think I love you too.” 

“Oh,” Yang said, more to herself than to Blake, even as her heart both leapt for joy and was crushed by the reality of their situation. “You’ll come back?” she asked, meeting Blake’s eyes with a pleading expression. Blake nodded and smiled again.

“Of course. Of course I will.” She leaned down and the two nuzzled their foreheads together once more, then Blake headed for the door and vanished into the wilderness. Yang fell backwards with a happy sigh, while sorrow plagued her chest. Blake  _ loved _ her. Blake Belladonna loved her. Yang had never been so overjoyed and so horrified all at once. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's better than bees? Immortal bees.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	16. Day Sixteen-Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after declaring her love for Blake, Yang is woken up by the sudden appearance of Weiss Schnee.

Yang woke with a start as someone shook her shoulder. Years of instinct from working as a mercenary made her leap into action, one hand snatching up her hammer and the other rising to defend herself, only to freeze when she saw her father crouch over her, his face a mask of concern.

“Yang, get up,” he whispered and Yang felt her drowsiness pushed aside as sharp intellect came to the fore.

“Why, what’s happening?” she asked even as she began to get up, throwing her blanket aside and sitting up.

“That Schnee woman is back, and she’s got help. Summer’s dealing with them right now, but they’re looking for you,” Tai said, sliding down the ladder. Yang felt a spear of dread pierce her heart. Of course they were looking for her. She should’ve known never to stay in the house after Weiss Schnee knew she was in league with Blake. All it had done was put her family in danger and Yang cursed herself with the realization that she had put the people she loved in the firing line. 

But there was no time for that, guilt could come later. Right now she needed to move, and so she hurriedly got dressed and grabbed her gear, sliding down the ladder. She crouched as she moved towards her father, keeping out of sight of the windows and door which was cracked open a hair. Even a single flash of movement would be enough for somebody like Weiss Schnee to go on the offensive. She could hear her mother talking outside, putting on an amicable voice as she explained, “...Yang and Ruby are probably back in town right now. They like to get an early start on things, you know.”

There was an exasperated sigh and then a voice that Yang recognized as Weiss Schnee’s snapped, “I just told you, we came from town. If you’re hiding them then…” The words faded as Yang snuck into her parents room finding her father by the small back door to his workshop. She could already picture her mother’s gaze shifting from a friendly smile to a glare so devastating it had turned away armies, if the stories that Qrow told were true. Summer looked every bit a farmer’s wife, down to the dimples on her cheeks and the pattern on her dress, but she could still lay out most people with a single punch. Yang always had taken after her mother. 

“Where’s Ruby?” Yang hissed as she sidled up to the door, hammer in hand. 

“Already gone. She said she knew where she was going, and, well, you know Ruby,” Tai grumbled and Yang nodded with a roll of her eyes. Ruby certainly did know where she was going, though whether anyone did or even knew her hiding place existed was a different matter entirely. Ruby knew more about the woods surrounding Patch than anyone else. If there was anybody who could vanish into the woods for a few months without a care in the world, it was Ruby. Yang was snapped back to the moment when Tai murmured, “Do you know where you’re going?” 

“I-” Yang started to say, only to pause with a frown. She didn’t. Both of Blake’s homes that she’d found were almost certainly already known by Weiss Schnee, and she couldn’t afford to wander the island to find another. She sighed and muttered, “I’m figuring it out.” Tai nodded slowly, his face etched with worry like he might never smile again. “I’ll be fine, dad.”

“I know,” he whispered, reaching up and stroking her cheek gently, “I’m just worried about what you might have to do to get there.” 

Yang surged forwards and wrapped her father up in a hug so tight that he gasped in surprise as his breath was squeezed from his body. Still, he laughed softly and hugged her back, giving her an equally powerful hug. The two stayed that way for a while, Yang burying her face in her father’s chest while he stroked the back of her head soothingly, murmuring assurances. A shout of “Let us  _ in _ , you old hag!” broke the moment apart and Yang looked up to see Tai’s face twisted into a snarl of fury. 

“Those little-” he started, then cut himself off. He sighed and smiled at Yang, then popped the door open to his workshop. “The window should be big enough for you. Go, I’ll take care of this.”

“You know mom doesn’t need help in a fight,” Yang said and Tai choked out a laugh.

“She doesn’t, you’re right. I should probably get bandages for Weiss Schnee and her people instead.” Yang laughed and with that the two separated. Yang dove into the workshop and looked around, finding the window that her father used to dump wood and other supplies into his workshop. It was plenty big and she all but threw herself through it, rolling as she hit the ground and coming unsteadily to her feet. 

Yang looked around slowly, finding the back of the farmstead empty. Everyone was still busy up front, and all the more so as she heard her father shout something and the door slam shut. More shouting and curses from the front of the house and soon it sounded like a full on five way debate between the two parties. That, Yang decided was her opening.

She snuck towards the woods, sliding her hammer back into her belt loop to free up her hands. The last thing she needed was to trip and go tumbling down a hill, with her hammer flying off into the sunset never to be seen again. Yang didn’t have Ruby’s in depth knowledge of the woods, but she still managed to slip inside without much trouble. Her parents were doing an excellent job of keeping Weiss Schnee and her compatriots busy, and Yang knew that she needed to move before they got annoyed and shoved their way into the house regardless. 

Even as she looked back to see how her parents were faring, as a flash of fear appeared at the thought of what Weiss Schnee might do to them, she knew it was a mistake. Instinct, years of experience, and common sense all said that she should’ve just kept moving, but she refused. She needed to know that they were okay, for her own sake if nothing else. Her eyes raked the scene finding Weiss Schnee and her bodyguard in red arguing with Tai and Summer, then turned to the one in white. This one was looking right at her. Her eyes snapped open wide and she shouted, “She’s in the woods!”. Yang bolted into the forest, tearing through the trees as an arrow slammed into the tree beside her head, sending wood splinters tearing off into the forest. 

Now there was no looking back, no time for glances to see how close her pursuers were, even as she heard Weiss Schnee yell, “Don’t kill her, you idiot!” Yang didn’t have time to thank whatever gods were watching that she was wanted alive, instead pounding the forest floor as she sprinted deeper into the woods, desperately chasing a sliver of freedom from her pursuers. There was no way she could lose them, not without a hood and good hour’s head start. Her hair stood out too much and, unlike Ruby, she was loath to slather it in mud to hide its sheen. Besides, they were too close to her and it was broad daylight. If it were night she might’ve tried to double back and slip around them while they charged deeper into the woods, but that was impossible now. Besides, she thought grimly, Weiss Schnee didn’t seem like the type to fall for that. 

She was so caught up in her own head and her escape that she didn’t see the little hill before she had stepped off it. Her foot caught nothing but air and she screeched, tumbling down the hill and rolling to a stop. Yang gasped as she caught her breath, thankful that she hadn’t gone over one of the larger cliffs that were out here. Even as she struggled to her feet, her pursuers came to a halt on top of the hill, two of them with bows at the ready and Weiss Schnee armed with her rapier and a victorious snarl. Yang snatched up her hammer, even as the two bodyguards glared at her, ready to shoot her where she stood. 

“Not so snarky now, are we?” Weiss Schnee said, “Where is she?” 

“I don’t know who you-” Yang started to say, only for Weiss to sigh and turn to her companion in red.

“Melanie, put an arrow through her shoulder. We’ll see if she talks then.” Yang gasped as the one in red drew back her bow, trying desperately to prepare herself for the explosion of pain that would be the arrow punching through her body. 

There was no need. Even as the one in red drew back fully a large, black  _ something _ slammed into her. She yelped in surprise and pain, then vanished into the forest, leaving only a swiftly fading trail of fallen leaves in her wake. Weiss Schnee gasped in surprise as her companion in white screamed, “Melanie!”

“Back to back!” Weiss Schnee snapped, wrenching the woman in white around so they were pressed against one another, weapons at the ready. They watched the woods carefully, eyes scanning for anything out of place, ears listening for any snap of a twig, a rustle of leaves, anything that would give them an indication of where their assailant was. 

Something snapped in the forest and the one in white screeched, loosing an arrow into the distance. There was a long, tense silence that stretched on far too long. The one in white paled in horror, but Yang looked past her, in between the two women. In the woods behind them, a pair of amber eyes glinted through the brush. They rolled lazily towards Weiss Schnee and Yang nodded. 

She and Blake acted as one, dashing towards their assailants at the same moment. Weiss Schnee whirled around with a roar and slashed at Blake, making the vampire leap away with a hiss. The woman in white turned to stare in mounting shock, and that was all the opening that Yang needed. She threw her entire weight into the woman, knocking her over with a cry of surprise. She nearly collapsed, then turned to Yang in a fury, hurling herself at the blonde even as she drew a dagger from her hip. Yang gasped as she was tackled, the two rolling down the hill in a tumble of limbs, swears, and flashing weapons. 

As they rolled to a stop the woman in white was on top, her face a mask of fury. Yang swung at her with her hammer, but the woman reared back and the blow sailed by harmlessly. As she came back down she went to plunge her dagger into Yang’s chest. Yang screamed and threw up one arm, managing to catch the woman’s wrist. The dagger came to a halt only an inch above Yang’s chest, the blade scratching her leather armor and leaving a frantic, desperate design in its wake. Yang bellowed and swung her other arm up, elbowing the woman in the forehead. She screamed and fell back, her dagger thankfully lifting away. 

Now it was Yang’s turn to go on the offensive, leaping on top of the woman. The woman tried to fend her off with her dagger, but Yang bashed it aside with her hammer, sending the weapon sailing into the woods. As she raised her fist to knock the woman unconscious, there was a howl of fury and Yang turned to see Weiss Schnee bearing down on her with her rapier.

Yang gasped and flung herself off the woman, but Weiss Schnee’s aim was unerring, plunging towards her eye even as she landed heavily on the ground. Yang screamed in horror and threw one hand up to defend herself, but the blow she expected never came. It took a moment to realize just what had happened as everyone stood in shock. 

Weiss Schnee’s blade was frozen in the air, clasped between Blake’s hands even as the silver made her palms sizzle and burn. Blake tightened her grip with a whimper of pain, then wrenched the weapon away. Weiss Schnee yelped in surprise and leapt for her rapier, but Blake threw it aside and grabbed the vampire hunter’s armor, lifting her up into the air like a doll. “Leave us alone,” she snarled, her fangs flashing in the sunlight and her eyes a furious orange. 

“You’re a monster,” Weiss Schnee hissed, “I’ll never stop hunting you. Do you think killing me will be the end of this? My sister will follow, and even if she fails there are hundreds more just like us in Atlas. You can’t win.” Her hand drifted to her belt, going slack as though to give the impression that she was giving up, but came to a rest on one of her stakes. As she wrapped her fingers around it, she froze, the sound of a crossbow being pulled back grabbing her attention. She snapped her eyes over to see Yang on the ground, glaring at her down the sight of her crossbow, silver tipped bolt at the ready.

“Make one more move for that stake and Blake will be the last thing you have to worry about,” she hissed. Weiss’ face fell into that eternally angry and disappointed glare she wore and her hands fell limp at her side. She turned her glare to Blake and snarled,

“Do it. Feed on me, you fucking monster.” 

Blake’s glare deepened into a proper snarl, a low growl rising from her throat, then she threw Weiss Schnee to the ground. “No. I don’t feed on people like you.” With that she turned to go, offering a hand to Yang. Yang took it and rose to her feet, as Blake leaned in and whispered, “Ruby’s safe. She’s at my lodge with her face buried in Shroud’s fur.” Yang snorted and murmured,

“That sounds like Ruby all right.” As the two turned to go, Blake called over her shoulder,

“Your friend is fine, by the way. She’s just tied up somewhere in a that ways direction.” She gestured vaguely to the west and the woman in white gasped before sprinting in that direction, leaving Weiss Schnee alone. Weiss Schnee settled in for a fight now that she was alone with Yang and Blake, only to balk as the two kept walking away, Yang fussing over Blake’s bleeding hands. 

“Wh-what?” Weiss Schnee yelled after them, “What do you mean you don’t feed on people like me?” 

“I’d rather feed on the Miss Malachites of the world,” Blake yelled back without even a glance over her shoulder, “Go ask someone in town, they’ll tell you.” Yang leaned into Blake as they walked off, leaving a flabbergasted Weiss Schnee in their wake. As soon as they were out of sight, Blake turned to Yang and asked, “Hey, you mind if I carry you?”

“Uh,” Yang flushed red and stammered, “N-no, of course not. I-I can walk though.” 

“Yeah, but this is faster,” Blake said and scooped Yang up by her legs. She grinned at Yang, who’s heart was doing acrobatics in her chest at the idea of being carried by Blake, then sprinted through the woods. 

To say it was faster would be like to say that day is brighter than night. It was an obvious fact, and one that Yang appreciated immensely as Blake bounded through the woods, sailing over hills and flying between the trees like a gazelle. Within a few minutes they were on the coast, a small lodge poking out between the dunes. Blake let out a happy sigh and ran towards it, leaping into the clearing around it was a small thud. She let Yang down, who stumbled to her feet, feeling warmth in far more than just her cheeks. Blake shot her a wink and Yang nearly fainted then and there. She might well have done so if it wasn’t for her eyes catching Ruby, who did indeed have her face buried in Shrouds fur. The cat, for her part, was simply enjoying the noonday sun, her chest rising and falling as Ruby nuzzled against her. 

“Ruby!” Yang yelled, racing towards her. Ruby sat up, confusion crossing her face as she saw Yang’s expression of relief as she slid to a halt and wrapped her sister up in a hug. “You’re okay!” she choked out, burying her face into her sister’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ruby said, “Is something wrong?” 

Yang leaned back in confusion, seeing Ruby’s blank expression. “Is something-you do know that Weiss Schnee came to the house, right? She was looking for us and then she chased me and Blake and-” Yang let out a sigh and shook her head as Ruby started absentmindedly petting Shroud, making the cat rumble contentedly. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“You too, sis,” Ruby said softly, “You wanna lay on Shroud with me? It’s really comforting.” 

Yang glanced back at Blake, who smiled fondly at the three of them. “Yeah,” Yang said, “I’d really like that.” So the two sisters lay their heads on Shroud’s side, the big cat growling friendly-like in response, while Yang caught Ruby up on everything that had happened. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda had to shoehorn in the word freedom at midnight last night, but it's there! I still completed the challenge!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	17. Day Seventeen-Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the wake of their fight with Weiss Schnee, Yang and Blake take stock of their relationship.

“Yang?” 

Yang looked up from the book she was reading, a herbology book from Vacuo that was outdated by a hundred years. But it was still more than Yang knew about Vacuon plants beforehand, and Ruby had lapped it up like sugar water, so it was at the very least entertaining. “Yeah, Blake?” Blake sat next to her outside her lodge and sighed, putting her head in her hands. Yang closed the book, concern twisting her heart as she leaned over and put an arm around Blake. “Hey, you okay?”

“No,” Blake muttered, sliding her hands down enough to be able to look out at the sea. A storm was forming in the distance, but Yang reckoned there were still a good few days before it hit. “I’m thinking about the other day.”

“Blake, I told you it’s fine. I gave you permission to feed on me,” Yang said, unconsciously rubbing a hand over the twin puncture wound scars on her neck. Blake shook her head and murmured,

“Not that, in the copse. When you found me at my other hideout.”

“Oh.”

“I can’t-I  _ hurt _ you, Yang. And I fucking hate myself for it.” Blake’s voice was hard and her jaw set in such a way as to grind her teeth with each word. “I can’t ever take that back. I did something awful to you, and I’ll never be able to live that down.” She looked over at Yang and her eyes were brimming with tears. “You said that you forgave me. How could you possibly forgive me for that?”

Yang sighed and looked away, her heart conflicted and wrought with fear and worry. “I don’t know, Blake. You were scared and angry.”

“That doesn’t justify it,” Blake muttered, “I should never have done that.” 

“And you never will again,” Yang said and Blake snapped her gaze to Yang, her eyes full of swirling confusion and concern.

“How do you know? How could you possibly know that?” she asked and Yang reached over, grabbing her hand gently and threading their fingers together.

“Because I trust you, Blake. You know what you did was wrong, you regret it. There’s no way to go back and change it, but you know that it was a terrible thing.” She met Blake’s eyes with a fierce determination, trying to will Blake to believe what she believed, as though to pass the feeling between them by their contact. “And you’re a better person than that. You know that you are. You’re not like Adam, you’re nothing like him, no matter what you’ve done. You reacted out of fear, you didn’t do it for control, or power. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive you for it completely,” she squeezed Blake’s hand reassuringly and smiled gently at her, feeling Blake’s hand relax ever so slightly, “but I know that you won’t do it again. I trusted you last night, and I trust you now.”

A single tear fell down Blake’s cheek and Yang reached up, gently wiping it away with her thumb. “You-y-” Blake started, then stopped herself. She took a deep breath before choking out, “I won’t. I swear I won’t. I promise.”

“I know,” Yang murmured, leaning forwards and rubbing their foreheads together. Blake sighed and leaned into her until they were only an inch apart, their lips ghosting one another. Yang couldn’t help but let her eyes linger on Blake’s lips for a moment, just a hair too long to be polite, and Blake laughed softly as she saw it. Then there was a surge of courage in Yang’s chest, a moment of bravery and strength so pure, so unrefined, that she knew it came from the deepest parts of her soul. She leaned forwards and Blake gasped but didn’t retreat, instead leaning forwards herself to return the kiss, the inevitable meeting of lips that they both wanted so desperately.

“Did you guys know that Shroud’s fur is unique to Menagerie?” Ruby shouted, bursting out of the lodge. Yang yelped in surprise and Blake squeaked, flinging herself backwards and nearly flying across the beach in her hurry to get away. Yang toppled over, winding up on her back in the sand while Blake groaned and righted herself, both of them looking around in confusion. Ruby was standing in the doorway, her head cocked the side in confusion. “You two okay?” 

“Yup!” Yang shouted, springing to her feet and smiling broadly, “Fine! We’re fine. Just hanging out and talking, you know how it is.” Blake nodded vigorously in agreement as she walked back to the lodge, and Ruby furrowed her brow.

“Okay,” she said slowly, then brightened up and asked, “So are you two gonna kiss?”

Yang flushed a bright red and Blake did the same, turning around to hide her embarrassment as Yang stammered out, “R-Ruby! We’re not together.”

“Yet,” Ruby added with a bright smile and Yang groaned in exasperation, then walked up to her sister and slung an arm around her shoulder.

“C’mon, you. We should get back home.” Ruby nodded happily, then dashed back inside. Yang looked in to see her burying her face into Shroud’s side again, the cat rumbling contentedly. Blake sighed with a fond smile as she watched them.

“Those two get along well,” she murmured as they watched Ruby gather her things, which now consisted of a few more scrolls that she had left with, all of which were covered in drawings of Shroud.

“Yeah,” Yang said softly, “I bet she’ll be coming back a lot to see Shroud.” Blake snorted with laughter and Yang leaned over to give her a one armed hug. Blake leaned into her side as she did so, gently resting her head on Yang’s shoulder. After a moment, during which Ruby went back to hugging Shroud, Blake murmured,

“I promised.”

“I know,” Yang whispered back and gave Blake a reassuring squeeze. Blake sighed happily and nuzzled her head against Yang’s shoulder. Ruby gave Shroud one more hug, then leapt to her feet and headed for the door, smiling happily, black fur all over her clothes. “All right, Rubes,” Yang said with a laugh, “Let’s go home.”

“Okay!” Ruby said, then warped Blake up in a hug. Blake squeaked in surprise and returned it awkwardly, patting Ruby on the back with one hand, while her other was still around Yang’s waist. “Thanks for having us, Blake! Is it okay if I come back to study Shroud some more?”

“I guess that depends,” Blake said, “What does Shroud want?” They all turned to look at Shroud, who rumbled in contented agreement before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. “That’s a yes.” Ruby squealed in excitement and gave Blake a squeeze before slipping between the two and dashing back towards the farmstead.

“Ruby wai-Ah, she’s gone,” Yang muttered, then turned back to Blake. She reached up and gently stroked a lock of hair behind Blake’s ear, cupping the back of her head. Blake shuddered at the touch and leaned forwards, Yang leaning in to meet her. Their lips met in the middle and Yang moaned into the kiss as Blake gently bit her lower lip, her fangs grazing the skin tenderly. Into this kiss Yang poured her love, her trust, and her dedication to Blake, feeling a surge of the same in return. It was a kiss of warmth and commitment, a kiss of willingness to work on their love and themselves as they grew and changed with the years. It was a kiss that let Yang know that Blake was going to be with her for a long time, and she couldn't be happier.

As their lips separated, Blake let out a contented sigh. “You better go after her,” she whispered, “Don’t want her to get lost.” Yang snorted softly and murmured,

“She knows those woods better than I do. She’ll be fine.”

“So we have more time for kissing?” Blake asked and Yang nodded. Blake hummed happily then leaned in again and Yang claimed her lips with her own. 

By the time that Yang walked back to the farmstead, she was still drunk on her kisses with Blake. In fact she was so caught up in the moment of kissing Blake that she almost missed the happy squeals from Ruby and barks of a dog in the distance. She furrowed her brow, muttering, “Zwei?” If Zwei was here, then that could only mean that-

“Hey there kiddo,” a gravelly voice that Yang recognized as her uncle Qrow reached her ears and Yang couldn't help but smile. SHe turned to see her uncle, as disheveled and ragged as ever, leaning on the wall and smoking a pipe. Yang ran over and immediately wrapped her uncle up in a hug, lifting him off the ground as she did so. Qrow grunted in surprise, saying, “Watch the pipe!”

As Yang set him down on the ground she had a beaming smile, elated as she was to see her uncle again. “Hey! How are you? What’re you doing out here? How’s Raven?” 

Qrow snorted with laughter and murmured, “Now you sound like Ruby.” Yang flushed with embarrassment and Qrow laughed again. “I’m fine, and so is Raven. I’m out here to visit like I said I would.”

“You said that four years ago,” Yang said dryly and Qrow waved it away.

“Details. Thing is, I’m here now and I brought Ruby’s dog back.” They looked over to see Ruby rolling the ground with the portly dog that was Zwei, the dog barking happily as he licked Ruby and she laughed delightedly. “So who’s your new girlfriend?”

“What?” Yang gasped, snapping back to Qrow. He gestured to his neck and murmured, 

“Might wanna cover those up before Summer sees ‘em.” Yang flushed red and hiked her jacket up, knowing that she had a few hickeys on top of the bite wound. Still, she had left quite a few on Blake as well when their kissing had taken a turn for the adventurous, hickeys that Blake had admitted wouldn't heal until she fed again. She hadn’t seemed terribly upset about that fact. 

“Her name’s Blake,” Yang said, feeling a surge of pride at the fact that she could now say that Blake was her girlfriend openly, “She’s great.”

“She’s the vampire, right?” Qrow asked and Yang leapt back, mouth hanging open aghast.

“Mom and dad told you?”   
“Sure did,” Qrow said, “But my new travelling companion was going on about vampires too. I thought she was crazy until Tai and Summer said the same thing.”

“I thought you traveled alone,” Yang asked slowly, almost cautiously. Qrow shrugged and puffed on his pipe a few times before saying,

“I usually do, but she was heading to Patch around the same time. Didn’t have any reason not to travel with her. She’s a stick in the mud, but good in a scrap. Has silver on her weapons, who does that?” 

Yang paled and backed away, and Qrow’s face twisted into concern. “Is she a Schnee?”

“How’d you know that?” Qrow asked and Yang shrugged helplessly. Qrow raised an eyebrow in a ‘we’ll talk about this later’ kind of way, then said, “Yeah, she’s a Schnee. Winter Schnee, came out here to see her sister. You know her?”

“Kind of,” Yang choked out, already backing away, “Shit, I’m sorry Qrow, I gotta run.” With that, she bolted away towards the lodge, tearing through the forest in a mad dash. They had barely survived Weiss Schnee. If Winter Schnee was any better, then they needed to get off of Patch, and fast. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big cat and a dog to play with? Ruby's in heaven right now.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	18. Day Eighteen-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the run from Winter Schnee, Blake reflects on the events that brought her here, and a potential future.

Blake hummed a soft sea shanty to herself as she danced around her lodge, throwing together a quick meal for herself and Shroud. She didn’t need to eat, at least not actual food, but it was still worth having a proper meal every now and then. The metallic taste of blood became rather bland after a while. A good stew or roast could spice up even the mundane feasts of vampires. 

Shroud rumbled happily as she nuzzled up against Blake’s leg, and Blake reached down a hand to scratch her behind the ears. “You doing okay, girl?” Blake murmured and Shroud rumbled louder, “Yeah, you liked Ruby, didn’t you?” Shroud blinked slowly at Blake in what she knew was an expression of love and Blake returned it in kind. “Yeah, love you too, girl,” Blake said softly. She finished cooking and hefted the meat onto a cutting board, slicing off a few pieces for herself to lay on top of the potatoes she already had laid out, a gift from the Xiao Long/Rose household. Shroud had her raw chunk in her corner, where she had already devoured a good portion before Blake had finished cooking. Just as Blake was about to sit down and eat, the door swung open. She all but threw her plate aside, whipping around to see Yang in the doorway, panting heavily. Blake let out a sigh of relief and smirked, “Can’t get enough of me, huh?”

“We have to go,” Yang said and Blake’s smirk dropped away, Shroud whining in distress at the worried tone in Yang’s voice.

“What? Why?” Blake asked.

“Winter Schnee is here. She just got into town,” Yang said and Blake’s eyes went wide. She raced around the house, grabbing her things as Yang asked, “Do you have another place to hide?”

“Yes, but it won’t matter with Winter Schnee,” Blake said, tossing a bag to Yang, which she slung over her shoulder. “At least with Weiss you can rely on manners, but Winter’s a soldier. She’ll break down the door to your house before she even says hello.” She snatched up her cloak and slung it about her body, then turned to Yang. “You take Shroud back to your house, let her stay with Ruby. I’ll finish packing up my supplies. We’ll meet at the ferry and get out of town.”

“Where are we going?” Yang asked as she reached out a hand to Shroud. The big cat walked over and nuzzled her hand, grumbling as she did so. 

“Anywhere but here. If we can get to the city we can get passage to a different continent.” Blake paused and looked up at Yang, smiling softly, “You don’t have to come with me. She’s after me, not you.”

Yang sighed and ran a hand through her hair, absentmindedly scratching Shroud as she did so. “I’ll at least get you to the city.” Blake nodded firmly and Yang smiled as best she could, then turned and ran back towards the farmstead, Shroud close behind her. Blake let out a long, low breath, keeping her fear at bay with all her might even as the sound of screams, the smell of blood and silver, the sight of vampires turning to dust around her pounded away at her psyche. She had no love for the White Fang, not what Adam had made them, but the terror of the Schnee sisters’ attack was more than enough to give her waking nightmares. It made her glad that she couldn't sleep. 

After gathering up the rest of her gear, she burst out of the lodge, making sure to close the door behind her, and bolted down the beach. If she could swing wide around Patch, stopping at her other hideouts on the way, she might be able to avoid the Schnee sisters entirely. Whether or not she made the ferry or had to swim back to the mainland was another question altogether. The Schnees would be watching the ferry of course, it was only smart, but Blake wasn’t above doing things the hard way. She’d walked across the continent, the ten mile swim to shore wouldn’t be much of a challenge.

As she ran, swinging by her hideouts and grabbing whatever essentials she needed, memories of the ambush burst into her mind, unwanted. She didn’t remember many details until about halfway through, only the mantra of Adam’s voice ordering her ‘Stay with me’ repeated in her mind over and over, rooting her feet to the ground next to him. Her first real memory after she had been turned, one she could trust anyway, was seeing a crossbow bolt slice open Adam’s cheek. He had screamed, the bolt ricocheting off the cavern wall behind him, and Blake had gasped in horror. Adam had recoiled, a spray of blood shooting from his cheek, a drop, a single speck of his blood had landed on Blake’s tongue.

She had almost felt the veins of blue leaching out of her eyes as Adam’s control over her faded. She could feel his mark on her vanishing into the recesses of her mind and then forgotten entirely, leaving her stumbling and confused. It had been over two centuries since she’d be able to think for herself. The first jumble of thoughts had been confusing, a mass of ideas and information slamming into her psyche like a kick from a horse.

The best comparison that she could make was a vague memory from her childhood. Her father had taken her to Vale on official political business, really just an excuse to spoil his daughter a continent away from Kali, who might not have approved of all the sweets. The trip had been wonderful, and was one the strongest memories Blake had of her time before she was turned. The trip back had seen her awaken in the dead of night when their ship slammed into a reef while coming into harbor. The ship had been fine, and all hands safe and sound, but the jolt of awareness, the sudden tumbling as she fell to the floor from her hammock, the way all her thoughts came at once, the fear, the excitement, and, most of all, sheer unadulterated panic was what she remembered most.

In the chaos and confusion of the fight, which had seen nearly a dozen of their pack slaughtered before they’d even known there was a fight at hand and another half dozen killed in the fighting, Blake had managed to escape. She had slipped out the back way, a small crevice that Adam had her guard on days when he didn’t feel like looking at her. From there it had been an all out sprint away from the cavern, a flat run into the distant reaches of Vale. It was luck that she had found a road at all, never mind a town. Patch had been, she decided, far enough apart and out the way enough to avoid any attention for a while. Apparently she hadn’t been nearly as clever as she’d thought, but that wasn’t entirely her fault. It wasn’t easy to hide a vampire, especially not in a small town like Patch. 

The City of Vale might have been a better choice, Blake mused as she ran through the woods towards the ferry. It was huge, a massive conglomerate of humanity and Faunus that would be easy to vanish inside, with plenty of people that she could feed on without drawing attention. That was also the exact reason why it was a place to be avoided: everyone knew it was a haven for vampires, at least those who knew vampires existed. Atlas had established a chapter of their vampire hunter society there decades ago, and though it was diminished in the wake of their great success and the city nearly free of vampires entirely, it still wasn’t a place that Blake wanted to try her luck. It would be a good place to hide out for a few days, but not much else.

That was all she needed, a place to hide. Patch had seemed the best option, but the Schnees were persistent. If Winter was here that meant that the White Fang pack was destroyed. That, at least, made Blake let out a sigh of relief. Without the threat of Adam, she could focus on losing the Schnees or fake her own death. It wouldn’t be the first time. 

As she neared the edge of town, she scooted down the breaker rocks on the shoreline, keeping low as she crept towards the dock. She knew that the Schnees were probably back at the farmstead, but they could still have agents in town. The two women they’d been working with, Malachites Blake had realized, could very well be lurking near the harbor just in case of this exact event. 

Still, as she snuck along the shore, drawing a few strange looks from folk collecting clams, she didn’t see anything. The dock was just as busy as it ever was, fishermen rushing up and down with their catch and arguing with one another as they began to cast off. The ferry was waiting at the far end of the dock and near it Blake could see a familiar head of blonde hair, anxiously bobbing up and down. Yang had shed her hood, and that meant there almost certainly wasn’t anyone to fear nearby. Blake took a long sniff of the air, putting all her sense to work to try and find the Schnees nearby. 

There was nothing, no freshly sharpened stakes, no silver, no flowery perfume that Blake remembered from the attack. Blake let out a sigh of relief and closed the distance to the dock, hauling herself up it and slipping into the crowd. She reached the ferry before long and called out, “Yang!”

Yang turned to her, tears brimming in her eyes, and let out a strangled cry, then leapt at Blake. The two buried themselves in one another in a hug, nuzzling their foreheads together as Yang whimpered softly. “You’re here.”

“Yeah, I’m here,” Blake breathed out, stroking a lock of hair behind Yang’s ear gently. “C’mon, let’s get going.” As though on cue the ferry master yelled,

“Castin’ off soon, everyone!” Blake slid her hand down to grasp Yang’s and Yang entwined their fingers together, the two hopping onto the ferry. It was a small affair, built for maybe a hundred or so people at a time and nowhere near as advanced as similar ships in Menagerie, but it would do. People came and went so rarely on Patch that a bigger ferry, or even a second one, hadn’t been built or even needed. 

Yang started fishing around in her pouch for the twenty Lien it would take to pay for the ferry but the woman helping people aboard narrowed her eyes at them, then shook her head.

“No need, ma’am,” she said, “You’re all paid for.”

“What?” Yang asked, furrowing her brow in confusion, “By who?”

“Some rich woman came by, threw more Lien at us then we knew what to do with,” the woman said with a shrug, “Said it was for a blonde and a black haired cat Faunus. Unless there’s somebody else like that,” she paused and looked at the crowd, eyes flitting between couples in line behind Blake and Yang, “Seems like you two are all set.” 

Yang stammered out a thank you and Blake nodded curtly, then the two settled in on the ferry. They could figure out the mystery of their benefactor later, right now they needed to get to the mainland. The two snuggled up next to one another in the chill sea air, and Blake leaned her head on Yang’s shoulder, at once for the comfort and to whisper in her ear. “There might be a trap on shore. Be careful.”

Yang nodded quickly, wrapping an arm around Blake as she settled into her seat. Blake stifled a gasp at that and Yang turned to her, concern evident in her expression. “Is that okay?”

“It’s fine,” Blake squeaked out, then, when Yang’s concern only grew, she smiled and said, “It’s fine Yang. I mean it.” And she did mean it, doubling down on her words by wrapping an arm around Yang’s waist. Yang smiled softly at her and nuzzled her cheek lightly, making Blake giggle. The two continued trading nuzzles and small gestures of affection, a stroke on the cheek here, a small squeeze of reassurance there, tiny things that meant the world to Blake. By the delighted look in Yang’s eyes, it meant just as much to her. 

With that, they set sail. The trip took until the morning sun had sailed by into afternoon, but when they reached Patch’s small sister town on the shore the air had warmed up. Blake still kept close to Yang, their arms wrapped around one another as they walked off the ferry. Even though they looked every bit the adoring couple, Yang and Blake kept their heads on a swivel, eyes raking the crowd around them for Schnees or their associates.

No attack came, not even a hint of one. Blake frowned in confusion at this, then shook the thoughts from her mind. There would be plenty of time to worry about that later, preferably when they were several hundred miles from Patch. Yang, armed with extra Lien from the saved ferry trip and a hefty chunk of her remaining money from being a mercenary, bought them a horse and cart and soon the two were on their way into the forest. 

“Where to?” Yang asked as she eased the horse into a walk, falling into a line of carts leaving town. Blake sighed and settled into her seat, leaning against Yang. Yang smiled down at her softly, wrapping an arm around her as Blake snuggled close, burying her head into Yang’s side. 

“The city,” she said quietly, “We’ll hide out there for a while, make some money.”

“Do you need money?” Yang asked, a sliver of confusion entering her voice and Blake shook her head with a laugh.

“No, but you do. You need to eat, right?” Yang nodded ruefully and clicked her tongue as they began to move out of town. The horse settled into a light trot and they were on their way to the big city. Yang was practically vibrating with excitement and Blake snickered softly. “What is it?”

“Just never been to the city,” Yang said with a small flush of embarrassment, “The mercenary company I was in did a lot of work in the towns around there, but we never went inside.”

“No work there?”

“Nah, they had bounties for us.” Yang furrowed her brow for a moment and murmured, “Still might, actually.”

“So not the city then,” Blake said dryly and Yang laughed softly.

“No worries, baby,” she said, the endearment slipping out as easily as though it had been her name, “I paid that off before I left the company.” Blake was too busy blushing heavily to really hear what she had said and it took Yang a moment of a long, blank stare before she realized what she’d said, “Uh, I-I mean-Blake! No worries, Blake!” 

Blake was anything but worried. She leaned up and planted a small kiss on Yang’s cheek, making her blush harder as she whispered, “I don’t mind...baby.” She frowned at the word, then grunted, “I’m just gonna call you ‘love’.” 

“You sure, baby?” Yang asked with a sheepish grin, her confidence returning as Blake kissed her cheek again, “It’s kinda old fashioned.”

“I’m over two hundred years old, Yang,” Blake said dryly, “ _ I’m _ kind of old fashioned.”

“Yeah, but I like you anyway,” Yang said, taking her eye off the busy road out of town for a moment to give Blake’s nose a small peck, making Blake squeak in surprise. Yang chuckled at the sound of surprise and Blake huffed playfully, then settled back into Yang’s side. She’d have to get her back for that, eventually.

She would outlive Yang. It was inevitable with Blake’s curse and Yang’s determination never to be turned. But until she did, until old age claimed Yang as it had claimed Ghira, Kali, and everyone else that Blake had known from Menagerie, she would treasure every moment with Yang. She would love her to the best of her ability and the best of her heart. She would make the most of her time with Yang. There was no other way to be, not really, not now that they had shared so much. 

Blake loved Yang, she knew it now. She was going to love her ever as she turned gray and wrinkles complimented her dimples. She was going to love her even as she became too infirm to leave her bed. She was going to love Yang for the rest of her life, and beyond. The rest of time itself wouldn’t be enough time to give Yang the love she deserved.

But Blake was going to try her best. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes escape from the angst!  
> For now.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	19. Day Nineteen-Admire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While on the run, Yang reflects on her past with her family and her future with Blake.

As a rule, Yang liked traveling. It wasn’t really a rule, per say, but she liked to see new places, meet new people, and experience more of the world than just the small corner of it that was Patch. She and Ruby had been raised on Summer and Raven’s stories of high seas adventure and daring escapes through Mistral and Atlas. As it turned out, most were true. The ones that were demonstrably false were usually the ones where Summer and Raven had been on the unquestionably ‘good’ side of things. Being mercenaries rarely left much room for morals, though Yang had tried her best when in Raven’s employ. 

It had been a bit of a disappointment that the Brawen Company was stationed in Vale these days, rather than traveling around Remnant seeking work. It was all part of some complicated series of laws that relegated where and when mercenaries could work, and as the majority of the Branwen Company were Valean, Raven had elected to stay in that Kingdom rather than cut through all the red tape. Yang hadn’t bothered to learn the reasons why, only been so sourly upset a the lack of worldly travel that she had nearly packed her bags and returned to Patch within the first week. 

Now, as much as she hated to admit it, the old itch for travel was at its height again. Sure, she was on the run with a vampire across a kingdom that she knew like the back of her hand from people with the blessings of the most powerful military in the world, but Yang wasn’t about to let that ruin her fun. This was a chance to explore the world, really get out and see everything. The way that Blake was talking, they were going to have to travel to Mistral, at least, probably further.

“Once we get to Argus,” Blake was saying, “We can charter a ship for Mantle and hide out there.”

“Isn’t Mantle right under Atlas’ nose?” Yang asked and Blake frowned. 

“You’re right. Vacuo, then. I hear it’s a good place to get lost.”

“That’s what mom always used to say,” Yang said with a shrug and Blake nodded firmly. 

“Vacuo it is.” There was a long moment of silence, aside from the horse’s hooves on the dirt road and the wind in the trees, then Blake murmured, “You don’t have to come, you know.”

Yang looked over in confusion, a frown creasing her lips, and asked, “Why wouldn’t I?”

“You’ve got a family, Yang. You’ve got Ruby, and Tai, and Summer. They love you, and you love them. You shouldn’t give all that up for me,” Blake said quietly. Yang sighed and smiled as best she could, reaching an arm over to wrap it around Blake’s shoulders. She gave Blake a friendly squeeze, and murmured,

“I’m not giving them up. We’ll be back.” Blake opened her mouth to protest, then nodded slowly and turned away, studying the woods around them. Yang’s smile turned into a frown, and from there into a desperate attempt to keep from crying. The chances of coming back to Patch were slim, at least for a few years. It was equal parts frightening and depressing to leave her home of so many years. It wasn’t like leaving for Raven’s, there had always been the option to come home, and besides Raven was her mother. She was distant, but she was still family. After Yang had proven herself, the two had gotten on well. Yang had never reached the point of calling her ‘mom’ in an endearing way, nor had Raven ever directly called Yang her daughter. The closest the two had come was when Yang left for Patch all those months ago, a single moment where they brushed foreheads and Raven had told her to be careful, or she’d drag her back to Patch herself. Yang had laughed and promised her she would be. It had hurt to leave, no matter how much pain the Branwen Company had put her through. It was nothing compared to leaving Patch now.

Yang knew there was a finality to leaving now, a weight to the decision that had never been there before. Leaving for Raven’s had left tethers to Patch, a line to cling onto and drag herself home if need be. Now, the line led to a trap. The Schnees would no doubt lay in wait back on Patch, at least for a while, and Yang was loath to put her family in any more danger than she already had. No, she mused as she felt her heart sink deeper into her chest until it nestled amongst her guts, she couldn't go back to Patch. There was no way to do so and still keep everyone safe. Her gut twisted, trapping her heart in a sea of despair and sadness that Yang knew would never let her sleep well again. The fear for her family’s safety, for Blake’s safety, the loss of everything she’d ever known, it was almost too much to bear, nearly overwhelming her and forcing her to leap to the ground below and howl her misery to the sky. But being a mercenary had taught her many things, and how to get a job done without being overwhelmed was one of them. It was the hardest lesson she’d ever learned. She sniffled as a tear began to fall down her cheek and Blake looked over.

“Oh gods, Yang,” she whispered, gently wiping away the tear and cupping Yang’s jaw tenderly. “Gods, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Yang said, wiping at her eyes roughly with the back of her hand, “Just need a strong ale and a good night’s sleep, I’ll be fine. We’ll see them again.” She tried to put as much determination into the words as possible, even as her voice wavered with uncertainty. There was no way to guarantee that, not now, not ever. 

“Yang,” Blake said softly, “You can head back home. I can go on my own, I’ll come back when it’s safe. You need to be with your family.”

“It’s fine, Blake,” Yang said, gritting her teeth, the words coming out more forcefully than she intended. Blake froze, then sighed and stroked her jaw with one finger, the motions far more adoring and gentle than Yang thought she deserved. “I’m sorry. I just...I need some time, okay?”

“Okay,” Blake whispered and Yang looked over, a small smile flickering onto her face. Blake smiled as best she could and stroked her jaw once more, then let her hand fall, resting gently in Yang’s lap. Yang rested her hand on top of it, their fingers entwining instinctually. They rode the rest of the day in a strange silence, where words begged to be spoken but neither had the will or the wisdom to say them. They were words better spoken late a night, when half asleep or drunk. It was lucky, therefore, that ale was cheap at their inn that night.

Yang had always found it easier to be vulnerable when she felt safe. Slightly drunk wasn’t exactly safe, but it was liberating, and sometimes she was able to convince herself that they were the same thing. Being with Blake, they very much were.

Being with Blake, Yang could feel like she didn’t have to be tough. She’d spent her whole life being tough, filling in the gaps in their family after Raven had left. She’d stretched herself thin, trying to be both adult and child in the same moment, raising Ruby when her father had buried himself in work and her mother had been a continent away, begging Raven to return. It had been a long two years before Summer had come home, slumped over and defeated. Yang had done her best to keep everyone together, binding them all in one place as best she could. It wasn’t easy, being everything at once, but slowly she’d brought her mother back to the land of the living. 

It had been like mourning, the days after Summer had returned without Raven. Not mourning Raven’s departure, they’d done that for two years, but mourning the family they had been. It was then, Yang realized, that her wanderlust had set in for good. Sure, she and Ruby had always wanted to see the world, but now it was like a fever, which grew to an inferno as Yang grew older. The world was waiting for her. More importantly, her mother was waiting for her. She had made sure her family was back together, leaving them in Ruby’s careful, capable hands, before heading off on her own adventure. Yang had seen a lot coming, in her life. She’d known when a mission would go sour from the feel of the air, the people who might betray Raven by the way they shifted their weight, the days it would be nice to have a thick stew to warm everyone’s spirits. Never in her time with Raven, her years keeping her family whole, her travels around Vale, had she ever thought she’d wind up lounging in bed with a beautiful woman like Blake. 

Sure, Yang had spent time with beautiful young women in the past, even if few compared with Blake. She had gotten quite a reputation in the Branwen Company, which her mother tried to ignore, for finding a new paramour in every town, even admired for it. It wasn’t quite true, few of those friendships went anywhere further than someone to be with, someone to share her stories with who she hadn’t been traveling with for years. The few that had grown into relationships, proper relationships, were rarely more than flings. Yang had been chased out of town once or twice for accidentally bedding someone who was betrothed. It wasn’t her fault the rich and powerful thought romance a game, and the dashing mercenary a fitting, if dull, partner to play it with. By the time Yang knew that her partner was someone else’s fiance, usually someone far from town, she was being chased out of their house by an angry relative. 

Her past romances had been short, necessitated by the nature of her job as a mercenary and the people she was with. Everyone had known that she would only ever be in town for a short while, and no one more than Yang. So she had tried not to get attached, with little success. Yang got attached to people easily. It was something that Raven had remarked upon while she was drunk one night, blisteringly so otherwise she would never have said anything of the kind. Emotional connections were as difficult for Raven as they were easy for Yang. She had so much love to give, Raven had said, and anyone would be lucky to have a piece of it. She had so much of herself to give, so much that Yang was willing to give to everyone else, as Raven had said in her cruder way of speaking, ‘hacking fucking pieces of yourself off for every trollop with a pretty smile’.

And it was true, in its own, awful way. Yang had spread herself thin, once more. Too many people she loved, over too much distance, in too turbulent a time to love them all. The years had been hard in Vale. Yang tried not to think about the people she’d known. There was no time for it, and more importantly no way she could consider those things without being utterly overwhelmed and winding up a sobbing mess on the floor. Blake had mentioned losing people over the years. Yang thought she understood, in her own way. It wasn’t the same, obviously, but Yang had lost plenty of loved ones in her life. The mother she’d known growing up, the harsh but fair mother who had taught her to shoot and given Yang her first warhammer, had become the cold and calculating leader of a band of mercenaries. The father she’d known, quick with a joke and a story, was now still just a shadow of himself, his jokes canned and his stories a script at the worst of times, no matter how much love Yang, Ruby, and Summer poured into him. Summer was the one who had remained unchanged, as best she could. She was still that fiercely protective woman that Yang had grown up loving, baker of cookies and slayer of monsters. Super mom, Ruby had called her. Yang was hard pressed to disagree.

Yeah, Yang thought as she rested her head on Blake’s chest that night, her thoughts a barely organized jumble from exhaustion and alcohol, she had lost plenty of loved ones over the years. Not to death, or war, or disease, but to time. Time was the great equalizer, wasn’t it? Everyone was a part of the fabric of time, even people who seemed out of time like Blake. Time wove ever onwards, creating her masterpiece of a million million lives, over and over, in perpetuity. 

Time was all that had kept Yang from fully accepting her love for Blake beforehand, before that night that she had gladly given Blake her blood. It wasn’t much, a quick meal, a snack, Blake had murmured as they lay under the stars one night. Yang had laughed and given her a quick peck on the cheek, making Blake hum contentedly and curl up closer to her. Time, Yang had thought, time that Blake had and she didn’t. Blake would outlive her, simply put. One day, she would be old and infirm and Blake would be fit and young. It was cruel, to be in love with an immortal woman, Yang realized. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t in love, and she refused to let the thought poison her love for Blake in the slightest. 

They had time, right now. Yang was going to make sure that she spent that time well. She was going to love Blake, every day, every night, every moment. She was going to kiss her softly as she woke up and as she went to sleep, share a quiet meal in the easy silence that her parents slipped into so naturally. She was going to learn how to make tea the way that Blake liked it, the way that she just couldn’t right now. She might even get Blake to appreciate coffee, though that seemed a real impossibility. Yang nuzzled against Blake’s chest softly, and Blake leaned over her with a soft smile, kissing the top of her head tenderly.

“Ready for bed, love?” Blake whispered and Yang hummed in agreement. Blake opened her arms and Yang squirmed until she was comfortably settled in Blake’s embrace. Yang had spent years holding people, as they wept, as they rejoiced, as they slept. It was nice, she had realized after traveling with Blake for these weeks, to be held. She was safe, in Blake’s arms. She was truly, and completely safe. “Love you, Yang.”

“I love you too, Blake,” Yang mumbled as she drifted off to a peaceful sleep, lulled to her dreams on both love and alcohol. She felt Blake place one more kiss on her head, then sleep claimed her.

In Blake’s arms, Yang knew she was safe. And that, she realized, was truly liberating. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell that I had just finished watching The Haunting of Bly Manor before writing this?   
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	20. Day Twenty: Bind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake and Yang have a conversation about Adam and Yang reaffirms that they'll take him down together.

“Blake?” Yang murmured softly, a cold breeze whisking her away from her dreams of big cats and soaring dragons. Blake was standing at the window of their tavern room, staring at the moon as it wheeled by overhead. Yang frowned and slid out of bed, tossing the covers aside as she came to her feet. “Blake? Sweetheart?” 

Blake hummed softly, turning just enough to let Yang know that she had acknowledged her without turning away from the window entirely. “Sweetheart,” she whispered, so softly that Yang almost didn’t think she’d said it at all. “I like it when you call me that.” 

“Then I’ll keep doing it,” Yang said softly as she walked up to Blake, gently wrapping her arms around her. Blake hummed softly again, this time in contentment, leaning back into Yang’s arms. The pale moonlight illuminated them both, reflecting off of Blake’s fangs when she spoke and playing at making constellations from Yang’s freckles. “Why are you up?”

“I don’t sleep, Yang,” Blake scoffed, and Yang smirked, nuzzling against Blake’s neck and drawing out a small shudder of delight. 

“Yeah, but you like cuddling,” Yang said, “You’re a cuddle fiend.” That made Blake laugh and she lifted one hand to her mouth as though to cover up her smile. Yang giggled softly as Blake wriggled in her arms, turning around so she faced her instead of the indwo. 

“A cuddle fiend? Is that what you young people are calling it these days?” Blake teased, gently resting a hand on Yang’s hips and slowly stroking the curve of her hips with her thumb. Now it was Yang’s turn to shudder, mixed with a blush of embarrassment.

“I-I mean, no, that’s not what-I mean you like being held when I sleep,” she managed to say and Blake smiled softly up at her. She stood on her tiptoes and planted a small kiss on Yang’s forehead, and Yang returned it with a kiss on her cheek.

“Yeah, I do,” she said softly, “Just couldn’t stay still tonight. I didn’t want to wake you.”

“I sleep like a rock, you’d be fine,” Yang snorted and Blake laughed, covering up her smile once more. 

“Yeah, you do. I had to drag you to the cart the other morning.”

“It’s not my fault that place didn’t have coffee,” Yang grumbled and Blake smirked.

“Then you should’ve bought more coffee at the last market we went through.” Yang grumbled halfheartedly and Blake smirked again, stroking Yang’s cheek with one hand. “You’re lucky I don’t sleep or we’d only get four hours of travel in a day.” 

“I have a very specific sleep schedule,” Yang said matter of factly, “I schedule things, and then sleep through them.” Blake snorted in a very undignified fashion and Yang felt a surge of joy at the fact that she could get Blake to do that, those little reactions that only she got to see. They were small things, a smirk, a snorting laugh, a soft smile, but they were things that were so intrinsically Blake that Yang couldn’t help but love them. She knew that Blake got similar things out of her, her soft smirks, her undignified silly faces that she normally saved for Ruby, her giggles. Yang hadn’t giggled in nearly a decade until she’d met Blake. It had seemed an artifact of her time before Raven left, something best left alone, but Blake made her feel so at ease that it came back, easily and naturally, like she’d never stopped. 

“You would to, if it wasn’t for me,” Blake said dryly, dragging Yang back to the moment. They smiled at one another, then Blake sighed and turned back to the window, placing her hands on top of Yang’s. 

“What’s wrong, baby?” Yang asked softly, resting her head on top of Blakes, in between her cat ears. Blake flicked one ear, tickling her cheek and making her giggle, and in the reflection Yang could see that Blake was smiling softly.

“I’m just thinking,” she murmured and Yang planted a small kiss on the top of her head before asking,

“Thinking about what?”

“All of it. Patch, the Schnees, you, A-Adam,” she choked out the last name and her smile shifted into a grimace. Yang frowned and wrapped her arms tighter around Blake, trying to let the protectiveness she felt seep into Blake’s soul and give her a sense of safety. She knew what Adam had done, how he had controlled Blake in the very core of her being, warped her until she was a puppet of her former self. It had taken years to rebuild herself, and Yang wanted Blake to know that she was stronger than anything Adam had ever done to her, pouring her love for Blake, her trust in Blake, and her faith in Blake, into that embrace. It worked, at least it seemed to, as Blake sighed and gently nuzzled Yang’s jaw before continuing. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t?” 

“Adam’s not dead. He can’t be,” Blake said with a firmness that might very well have forced the universe to bring the man back to life.

“Why else would Winter be on Patch?” Yang asked and Blake sighed with a shake of her head.

“I don’t know. She wouldn't give up hunting him, the Schnees aren’t like that,” Yang snorted softly in agreement and Blake smiled weakly.

“Do you think he was on Patch?” Yang asked and Blake frowned.

“No, we’d know if they were. They wouldn’t bother hiding very well, even with the Schnees on their tail. A lot more people would’ve died.” Yang frowned and buried her face into the top of Blake’s head, nuzzling against her in an attempt to draw some comfort even as the cold feelers of terror began to reach into her heart. “He’s out there, Yang. I know it. Maybe the rest of the pack is dead, but he’s not.”

“How can you tell?” Yang asked softly and Blake sighed, pressing back against her until there was no more room between them. 

“I just can. Maybe it’s not real, maybe it’s just some random bullshit that I’m stuck on that I can’t let go of, but it’s just…” She sighed again and Yang gave her a comforting squeeze. “I just know. It’s like a weight on my chest, like a rope that binds me to him. I’d know if he was dead.”

“I believe you,” Yang said and Blake frowned, looking over her shoulder at Yang.

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” Yang said with a shrug, smiling softly at Blake, “But I do. But you know what else I believe?” Blake shook her head, silently urging Yang to continue, “I believe we’ll take him down if we see him.”

“Yang,” Blake said in both protest and exasperation, “It’s not that easy. He evaded Winter Schnee. She’s one of the best vampire hunters in the world, what chance do we have?” 

“She was working alone,” Yang said as though it were the simplest thing in the world. Blake frowned and raised an eyebrow.

“And?”

“And we’re not,” Yang said, leaning forwards to nuzzle their foreheads together. “We have each other, Blake. That’s how we took down all the other vampires, by protecting each other. We can do it with him too.” 

Blake opened her mouth to protest, then closed it slowly. After a long moment of staring into Yang’s eyes, into that gentle expression of trust, openness, and hope, she smiled softly and leaned forwards, kissing Yang with all the tenderness of a light rain on the mountains. “Together,” she murmured and Yang nodded before kissing her again.

“Together,” she affirmed, and the two turned to head back to bed. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, and every day after that. Maybe Adam would find them, maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he was already dead. It didn’t matter. No matter what happened, Yang knew that they could handle it all, together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another heavy chapter, but the next few are more upbeat!  
> Thanks to DieWeisseRose for pointing out that I put this in the wrong fic at first.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	21. Day Twenty One-Bee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the outskirts of the city of Vale, the Bees take a detour to a garden an find something amazing.

“Here we are my lady,” Yang said, gesturing at the small town that ringed the outskirts of the City of Vale. Blake giggled softly, leaning into her as they rode into town. Weeks had passed since they left Patch, and the road had been long, if uneventful. Neither the Schnees nor the White Fang had appeared to harass them, and Yang was feeling like they might very well have gotten away unscathaed. It was a foolish hope, a pipe dream, but it was something to cling to. She’d always been an optimist anyway.

The town that ringed the City of Vale was a pleasant looking place, full of rolling hills and quaint houses, almost like someone had picked up a village and placed it carefully around the towering structures that made up the city proper. Even the tallest windmills were dwarfed by the gigantic buildings of the city, smoke billowing out of the industrial district and the sound of shouting merchants wafting towards them on the wind. In the distance, high on the cliff that formed the metaphorical and literal backbone of the city, was a magnificent academy, beautiful with its stained glass and vaulted towers even from a distance. Yang let out a long, low whistle as she saw it. Beacon was a premier school for the rich and powerful, the place where the nobles of Vale sent their children to become proper members of high society. Yang had always wanted to go, but her father joked that she’d be thrown out on principle. The high class folk wouldn’t dare to be seen with a lowly mercenary. 

But that didn’t mean Yang was put off the city at all, there was plenty to do otherwise. But that could wait for tomorrow, the sun was beginning to sink towards the horizon even as they approached the outskirts, and it would take the better part of the afternoon to reach the walls that separated the outskirts and the city proper. “What do you think?” Yang asked and Blake hummed softly in appreciation. 

“It’s beautiful,” she said, “Not as beautiful as Kuo Kuana, but still.” Yang snorted with laughter and Blake snickered behind one hand.

“You think we’ll ever go there?” Yang asked, “Once your bad feeling goes away?”

“ _ If _ it goes away,” Blake corrected glumly, “We could go, someday. It’d be nice to see home again.”

“How long has it been?” Yang asked softly, afraid of pushing too far. Blake sighed with a shrug, but didn’t push the question aside.

“Long enough,” she murmured, “My memory from back then is...hazy. I’ve got a few things, but not much. I couldn’t go back because of Adam, and then once I was free I didn’t because I didn’t want to see it without my family there.” Yang frowned, a sad weight pressing down on her chest as she realized what it must be like for Blake. At least on Patch, Yang had Tai, Summer, and Ruby. Blake had no family left, no one that wasn’t part of the White Fang or with her right now. “Maybe one day we can go back,” Blake continued softly, “I’d like to pay my respects, anyway.” She smiled weakly and murmured, “I’ll have to get a false name. I’m the last Belladonna, after all, and I don’t think people would believe me if I told them.” 

“Your parents,” Yang said, “They were pretty important, right?”

“The most important people on Menagerie, for a while,” Blake said, “Dad led the White Fang, before Adam got control, and mom was famous for her hospitality. AS long as you didn’t insult her cooking, her family, or her tea.” Blake laughed with a faraway smile and murmured, “Especially her tea.”

“She was proud of it?”

“She nearly beat a man to death over it.” 

“Fucking hell, Blake,” Yang said, mouth open, aghast. Blake snickered and settled against her partner with a soft, contented sigh.

“Nearly did, dad broke them apart before she could do any real damage.” She shook her head with a small grimace, “It was one of the Albain brothers. They joined the pack after I did.”

“Did they hurt you?” Yang asked softly and Blake shook her head with a harsh smile.

“Of course not. Adam would’ve killed them. Besides, they were just as much under his control as I was.” Yang considered asking what that was like, being controlled, but then thought better of it. Blake didn’t like to talk about it, and so she wouldn’t pursue it. “But anyways,” Blake said, changing the subject, “We should find somewhere to rest up for the night.”

Yang nodded and they rode in an easy silence, eventually finding a small tavern next to a botanical garden. Once they stowed their gear and had a small bite to eat, Yang had followed Blake out the door and to the garden itself, nearly taken aback by its beauty. She had expected it to be a collection of the same kinds of plants she’d known traveling across Vale with the Branwen Company, but it was all that and more. There were Atlesian pines, towering over the Valean maples, Vacuoan cacti in a specially built room surrounded by sand and dirt, Mistralian lilies floating down a river that lazily surrounded the entire place, and in the distance a fountain with such beautiful and vibrant plants that they took Yang’s breath away. 

Blake gasped as she saw them, and she might have broken into a run towards them if she hadn’t been in a small crowd of other people enjoying the gardens. She snatched up Yang’s hand and all but dragged her towards that fountain. As they got closer Yang’s eyes grew wide in realization as she saw the fountain and the flowers around it closer, a layer of belladonna flowers ringing a fountain in the shape of a familiar woman, bees flying around it in lazy, concentric circles.

Blake let out a choked sob as she stepped forwards, reaching out towards a mirror image of herself, smiling and vibrant even when made from stone. The plaque at her feet read, in simple stone carving, ‘Our beloved panther cub’, signed with a simple ‘K&G’. With a cry Blake collapsed to her knees, desperately grasping at the stone as though it might vanish before her eyes. Yang ran up and slid to a stop next to her, gently wrapping her up in a hug and cooing softly into her ear. “Hey, hey baby, you’re okay. You’re okay, I’m here.”

Blake buried her head into Yang’s shoulder, her tears wetting her shirt as she sobbed openly. “Y-Yang, they-they didn’t-they-” She broke off with another cry and nuzzled closer. Yang cooed gently into her ear and gave her a reassuring squeeze, even as Blake continued to cry. They stayed there for hours, days maybe, it didn’t matter to Yang. She had Blake wrapped gently in her arms, pouring her comfort into her as she sobbed, every so often looking at the statue again and fresh tears would come pouring out, streaking down her face. 

Eventually, as the sun started to rise once more, Blake’s sobs faded. She leaned back, breathing heavily, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Yang smiled gently at her and leaned forwards to kiss her tears away, Blake sniffling as she did so. “Hey,” she said softly, “How’re you doing, sweetheart?”

Blake took a deep breath, then another, and then one more until she managed to form words once more after hours of crying, “They didn’t forget me,” she said softly and Yang’s smile grew gentle as she leaned forwards to nuzzle against her. 

“Of course they didn’t, Blake,” she whispered, “They loved you. They loved you so godsdammed much.” 

Blake nodded in slow agreement, and whispered, “I loved them too. Gods, I loved them so much and I-I-I just  _ left _ . Gods, I was so fucking stupid.” She spit the words out at the end like they were poison, and Yang wrapped her back up into a hug, holding her tightly as fresh tears began to form in both of their eyes.

“You weren’t stupid, Blake,” Yang said softly, “you were young. You made a mistake and-”

“And it costs me so fucking much,” Blake snalred, even as Yang felt tears began to fall onto her shoulder once more, “My home,” Blake choked out, “My parents, my best friend, my  _ life _ ...he took my life from me, Yang.” Blake leaned back to stare into Yangs eyes and the pain, the sorrow, the hollow, empty sadness that resided there nearly broke Yang’s heart and she wanted to whisk Blake away to a gentle place, a place far from the Schnees, from Adam, from the memories where Blake could relax, and rest and heal. But for now, all she could do was hold Blake tight as she cried.

More time passed. Maybe Yang was hungry, maybe she was thirsty, it didn’t matter much. Blake needed to be held, she needed to be comforted. Maybe some other people came in and saw them, maybe they gave them sidelong looks, it didn’t matter. Blake needed this time, she needed somewhere to be safe. Yang wasn’t sure she could provide that, but she was sure as hell going to try. 

Eventually, after who knew how long, Blake sniffled again and leaned back. Her eyes were full of determination, an inner strength and bravery shining through her sadness and her hurt. Yang smiled softly, then squeaked in surprise as Blake lunged forwards, claiming her lips with her own. Yang melted into the kiss, almost collapsing as Blake kissed her, fangs grazing her bottom lip as Blake kissed her with a determination and passion that Yang had thought impossible. 

When they finally broke apart all that Yang could say was, “Damn.” 

“I love you, Yang,” Blake said firmly and Yang felt her heart soar with joy as she heard it, felt her very soul leap into eternal bliss at those words, spoken with such firmness and adoration. “I love you so fucking much. I lost so much all those years ago, with Adam, but with you…” Blake paused and took a long, shuddering breath, then managed, “I found a new life with you, Yang. I want to live a life with you. I want to make up for the life I missed.” She paused again, entwining her fingers with Yang’s. “I just...I know that it won’t last forever. I hate that it won’t last forever, but I can’t-I  _ won’t _ let my life pass me by again.” 

Now it was Yang’s turn to lean forward with a kiss, a long, tender thing, that only broke apart when they needed to come up for air. “Yes, Blake,” she said softly, “I’ll live that life with you. I-It’s-yes.” It was all that Yang could say. It was all she needed to say. Blake understood, from the soft gleam in her eyes and the way she kissed Yang with a subtle adoration that only came from true dedication and trust, and Yang kissed her back with just as much of all of it. 

The Schnees, Patch, Adam, it was all still out there. They knew they hadn’t escaped or thrown off their pursuers or the past. But right now, it didn’t matter. Right now, they had each other. That was all that mattered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter's kinda heavy too. I forgot this was right after Bind, I'll be honest. The next few chapters are more upbeat, I swear! I double checked!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	22. Day Twenty Two: Motorcycle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the City of Vale, Blake and Yang get a chance to peruse the gigantic marketplace.

The next day saw Blake and Yang head into the city proper. Yang was awestruck at the sights and sounds of the city, so much more vibrant and colorful than Patch in ways that she could barely even comprehend. Blake, for her part, was a bit more used to cities, easily slipping between crowds and leading Yang down the streets, the reins of their horse in her hand as she led the way. 

Everything here seemed so much bigger than anything ever had on Patch. The buildings towered over their heads, growing larger as they headed deeper into the city, the market square was enormous, hundreds of stalls packed into a single, massive courtyard selling everything that you could imagine. Even the people seemed bigger, or at least that was their clothing, as all the clothing had puffy shoulders and what looked like large rings in the skirts. It made Yang glad that she was comfortable in her armor and street clothes, having to wear a dress like that would’ve made her start a riot. 

She felt a big awkward, truth be told. As much as she had wanted to go to the city during her time with the Branwen Company, she had never expected to feel so out of place. Yang was used to farmers and fishermen, good, hard working people with calloused hands and tough, reliable tools on their belts or over their shoulders. The kind of people that lived in the City of Vale, the people who were in fancy clothes and carried a parasol as though it might bite them, weren’t her kind of people. She had seen a few city folk come to Patch to vacation or pretend to give a damn about the rest of Vale, and most people had considered them on par with an exotic animal. Yang had never considered what that must have felt like, but now she had no choice. Every sidelong stare, every snide remark about her clothing, the way she carried herself, was beginning to make her feel a bit uncomfortable, like a deer being stalked by a hunter. 

Blake, on the other hand, was much more in tune with the city, easily settling into the give and take of the people around them and gently guiding Yang and the horse cart to the nearest tavern. She found gaps in the crowd that Yang never saw, slipped down alleys that inevitably led them closer to their destination, like she could see a path laid out before her. Yang idly wondered if that was one of a vampire’s powers, but put the thought aside. Blake would’ve mentioned something that useful, especially when they were busy hunting other vampires on Patch. 

The tavern was a small, serviceable affair, with a welcoming barkeep and a handful of rooms up above, as well as a stable on the side. Yang paid for their room while Blake put their things up above. Yang didn’t know how long they were going to stay here, after all they were still on the run, but at the very least they were going to be here for a few days. With luck, they had given the Schnees the slip and gotten a good week’s head start, but that didn't stop the two of them from looking around the crowds and peering down alleys to make sure the familiar flash of white hair wasn’t chasing them down. On top of that, Blake had started staying up every night, sitting up in bed with Yang curled around her waist. She was on guard, she had said, just in case Adam tried to attack them in the night. They didn’t know for sure if Adam was alive, and the more nights that passed by without an attack the more relaxed Blake was becoming, but if standing guard made her feel better than Yang wasn’t going to stop her. 

“Hey love,” Blake said brightly as Yang stepped into the room. She was busy setting down the last of their things, having carried up everything in one trip as was her wont, and Yang couldn't help but smile at the sigh of Blake so happy. 

“You seem to be in a good mood,” Yang murmured and Blake smiled, placing down her travel sack and prancing over, planting a kiss on Yang’s cheek. Yang flushed pink, still amazed that Blake loved her even now, weeks after they had declared it openly.

“I am in a good mood. An entire city we can disappear in? That’s exactly what I want right now,” Blake said, wrapping her arms around Yang’s shoulders. Yang laughed softly and grabbed her about the waist, gently tugging her closer so their bodies were flush against one another. She placed a soft kiss on Blake’s forehead, making her hum in gentle content, then murmured,

“So what is there to do around here besides disappear?” 

Blake pursed her lips in thought, then shrugged. “I’m not sure. We could go to the market. We need more supplies and it would give us a good chance to scout out the people around here, see if it’s worth sticking around for the long term.”

“That’s my girl,” Yang said with a smirk, “Always thinking two steps ahead.”

“You would be so lucky,” Blake said dryly and Yang smiled softly at her, a well of adoration and love spilling from her heart and filling her entire body.

“Yeah,” she murmured, stroking a lock of hair behind Blake’s ears, “I am lucky.” Blake blushed scarlet and nuzzled against Yang’s chest, her cat ears tickling Yang’s cheeks as she did so. Yang giggled softly and placed another kiss on top of her head. They stood there in that easy, lovely silence for a while until Yang murmured, “So, should we unpack and go see the market?”

“Let’s,” Blake said softly. Neither of them made a move to break their embrace, neither wanted to be without contact with the other. The market could wait. 

The next morning they finally made their way down to the market, hand in hand. It was lucky that Vale was as big a city as it was, with as many diverse peoples as it had. Two women, a human and a Faunus, clearly in love wasn’t going to attract any attention. It was just part of the cityscape, part of Vale. It helped also that Yang had shed her armor and weapons, though she kept her hammer. Both of them had exchanged their traveling clothes for more comfortable civilian wear, fluffy shirts and loose pants, a purse of Lien each. 

Yang reached over and absentmindedly pat her coinpurse every so often, making sure it was still where she left it and not in the hands of some grubby thief. Vale was a bright, vibrant place with a million wonderful things, but that didn’t mean Yang was going to let her guard down. She’d made that mistake before and the money she’d needed to borrow from Raven had taken two and a half years to pay off. The mercenary leader had charged her own daughter interest. 

“Hey, you okay?” Blake asked softly, leaning into Yang’s side. Yang shrugged and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, Blake nuzzling her as they walked.

“Fine, just making sure I don’t get robbed,” Yang said and Blake snorted softly.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’d see them coming.” Yang laughed at that as they stepped into the market proper. Immediately they were assaulted with smells and sights, a thousand thousand things happening all at once. An entire quarter of the market was taken up by food stalls, bakers pulling out fresh bread, butchers selling the finest cuts, farmers hawking their fruits and vegetables, and other, more far flung delights from merchants who traveled to the far off lands of Mistral and Vacuo. A small crowd had gathered around a particular stall that was selling something called ‘vud-kah’ from Mantle. From the rosy cheeks and happy laughter it was alcohol, and strong stuff at that. Elsewhere there were fabric sellers and jewelers, a row of blacksmiths made and sold everything from roofing nails to halberds, and in the distance there was a collection of the oddity merchants, selling knick knacks and strange new inventions. Yang looked around in wonder at the place, the entire market square nearly as big as the town of Patch itself. 

“Oh my gods,” she breathed out, “I didn’t know there was this much in the whole world.” Blake laughed softly and gave her a reassuring squeeze. 

“Should we stick together, love?” she asked and Yang nodded, feeling a trill of nervousness at the idea of separating in such a huge place. Blake nodded and led the way, gently tugging Yang along as they went. Though their money was tight, there was too much here to bother trying to save pennies. Within an hour they had a fresh loaf of bread, a sack of potatoes that Yang insisted she could make into a three course meal, a handful of fruit, some meat, and a shot of ‘vud-kah’ each. They slung back their shots and Blake gagged, coughing roughly into her arm as she choked it down. “That’s foul,” she muttered. Yang shrugged as she let the aftertaste settle in, feeling the familiar feelers of drunkenness already poking at the edge of her mind.

“It’s not great,” she agreed, then gestured towards the oddity merchants. “Wanna take a look?” Blake nodded at the two set off, perusing the various stalls of strange clockwork devices, statues that the merchant swore were from an ancient civilization, and listened to a man tell long winded story about a wizard giving four young women incredible power. It was all lovely, and Yang almost managed to forget why they were in Vale at all. The thoughts were banished from her mind completely when she saw one particular stall and the mechanical creation that resided there. She gasped in amazement and made a beeline for the stall, dragging Blake along with her. 

The stall was really just a small tent and an open area, where a mechanical device sat unused. It was roughly the length of a horse, with a stocky chassis and body, a pair of grips at the front, and two wheels at the fore and aft. The sign next to it, with a much more stylized drawing of what the construction was supposed to be, declared it a ‘motorcycle’. 

“Wow,” Yang breathed out in amazement, “What does it do?” The stall owner, a man with glasses so thick you couldn’t see his eyes and a shock of green hair, leapt to his feet, proclaiming.

“What does it do?” His voice was fast and breathy, so quick as to be almost indecipherable, “Why it goes!” Yang gasped in excitement as she stared with new eyes at the mechanical thing. 

“It goes?” she echoed, “Without a horse?” 

“Of course! It’s a self propelled vehicle, using a combustion engine to provide power to the wheels,” the stall owner said with a proud smile and Yang cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“What’s an engine?” 

“Ah,” the man faltered for a moment, then shrugged, “Well I don’t know yet. But when I invent that, then it’ll go! People will give up horses for these, you’ll!” Yang was about to yank out her purse to throw money at the man in hopes of him inventing the engine then and there when Blake tactfully put a hand over her own.

“I’m sure,” she said politely, “We’ll be back once you’ve invented the engine, shall we?” She wrapped an arm around Yang, pulling her away even as she craned her neck to keep staring at the motorcycle. “You love that piece of junk?” Blake teased lightly and Yang let out a happy sigh, leaning against Blake so much it was almost a swoon.

“Blake, it’ll  _ go _ !” she exclaimed, “Without a horse! That’s madness, I can’t wait to ride one!” Blake giggled and Yang gave her a dopey smile, excitement bubbling in her chest at the idea of that kind of vehicle. She was already picturing one of her own, with a black body and yellow accents, an engined-enginized-A motorcycle testament to her and Blake! Yang squealed with excitement at the idea and Blake laughed again.

“And I can’t wait to watch you ride it,” Blake said.

“You don’t want to ride it with me?” Yang asked with a pout and Blake snorted with laughter.

“Not after having you drive the cart.”

Yang gasped in mock offense, and she would’ve put a hand on her chest in shock if she weren’t carrying a sack of potatoes and some bread. “I only ran us into a pothole once!”

“And we had to spend two days building a new wheel to get to the next town,” Blake said dryly and Yang flushed red with embarrassment. “C’mon, motorcycle girl,” Blake teased, “Let’s get this stuff back to the tavern.” Yang nodded with a beaming smile and the two set off for their room. Today, Yang decided, had been a great day, and she felt like nothing was going to get them down. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might be wondering, "How do you make a motorcycle fit into a setting where engines don't exist?"  
> My response would be "I have no idea. Maybe it's some Da Vinci's notebook type of concept drawing?"  
> And that's how this chapter happened.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	23. Day Twenty Three: Homosexual

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang and Blake decide to celebrate their success getting away from the Schnees with a drinking contest.

“Drinks!” Yang said with a beaming smile as she slid into her chair across from Blake. She passed an ale to Blake, followed by a shot of whiskey. Blake smirked, snatching up the whiskey before it had even come to a halt and slung it back. Yang grinned as she saw it, downing her own shot just as quickly. The liquid burned as it hit her throat, a good deal stronger than the watered down stuff that Junior sold, but it still tasted good. Yang let out a satisfied breath as she put her shot glass on the table upside down. 

Blake took a long sip of her ale, her eye sparkling with amusement as she stared at Yang. “Someone's feeling good tonight.” 

“What can I say?” Yang said with a wink as she picked up her ale, “I spent the day seeing the best sights the city has to offer with a woman who was more beautiful than all of them combined. It’s been a good day so far.” They had spent the day touring Vale, both as an attempt to see the sights and to find places they could bunker down or escape the city in the event of a Schnee attack. Now, armed with the knowledge of the city, they were taking the night easily and Yang was planning to enjoy herself at least a little bit. It had been a long few weeks on the run, and Yang was feeling far too anxious to do much other than fret and pace around her room. So, instead of htat, she had asked Blake if she wanted to do some drinking, do some drunken talking, and see what happened. Blake had let out a heavy sigh of relief and agreed immediately.

“You keep flattering me like that, it might get a whole lot better,” Blake purred and Yang felt a rush of heat from her core, flushing red. The idea of taking that step with Blake was at once enthralling and nerve wracking. Sure, they had kissed, they kissed quite a lot, but that was different from having sex. Yang had certainly had sex before, she’d even been called quite good at it, but the idea of doing it with Blake brought her to a whole new level of nervousness. It wasn’t that Blake was different from all the other women that Yang had been with over the years, in fact that was just it. She  _ was _ different, so indescribably different that it was like Yang had never really known what it was to be in love before now, before Blake. She could compare it to other women she’d been with, the whirlwind romance with Arslan Altan, the long, puppy love with May Zedong, but all of them paled in comparison to her love for Blake. Her heart had burned brightly for other women, like a fireplace on a cold winter night, but for Blake it was an inferno, a blazing bonfire of adoration and love with passion as the fuel and dedication as it’s oxygen. It was a fire that would never burn out, not completely, and would be a warm light in her heart for all the days she had left. 

Maybe after a few drinks she would be able to say all that to Blake, or maybe just write it down to make sure she got her point across properly. That seemed like a better idea. Ruby was always going on about the virtues of writing things down, how much better it was for being sure you were heard properly. That’s what she would do, Yang decided, and for now she just grinned and took another long drink of her ale. “I wouldn’t mind it, beautiful,” she said and Blake’s smirk grew.

“Maybe,” she said, “But I’ve got a better idea right now.”

“Better than wild sex with the most beautiful woman in the world?” Yang asked, leaning onto the table and resting her chin in her hand. “Go on, tell me.”

“A drinking contest. Whiskey, shot for shot,” Blake said and Yang furrowed her brow.

“Can vamp-” she cut herself off and looked around nervously, only turning back when she was sure that no one had heard her slip. “Can you even get drunk?” Blake shrugged noncommittally and said,

“Maybe. Adam never let us find out, and I’ve never had the pleasure of having someone to drink with. I’m as clueless as you are.”

Yang hummed softly in thought, then nodded. “Why not? I could drink anybody under the table back in the Branwen Company. I might be carrying you upstairs later.”

“Don’t tempt me with a good time,” Blake said with a wink and Yang flushed red again. Blake turned to the bar and ordered them another round of whiskeys, then said, “I hope you’re as good as you say.”

“I haven’t let you down yet, have I?” Yang asked with a cocky grin and Blake nodded with a sly smile.

“Not once.” The second round of whiskeys arrived, and the two set to drinking.

In the end, Yang won, but only just. Blake had given up after the seventh shot when she had fallen out of her chair and wound up laughing so much and so loudly that her fangs were clearly exposed. Yang had clumsily covered it up with a kiss, which Blake returned eagerly, and the barkeep had politely, but firmly, shooed them upstairs before they broke something. Yang and Blake stumbled up the steps, nearly falling down them more than once and collapsed on the bed.

Yang splayed out with her arms open, her eyelids heavy from exhaustion and drink, and Blake crawled up with leaden limbs to cuddle up against her chest. They lay there in contented silence for a moment, too tired to even take off their boots, until Blake murmured, “Yang?”

“Mmm?” Yang grunted in response.

“Are you-are yous drunk?” Blake asked and Yang shook her head as firmly as she could without making the room spin.

“No, imma hom-homs-homasezual,” Yang slurred and Blake laughed, muttering,

“Homosexual?”

“Mmhmm. Imma les...lesbo...lezzi…” Yang let the word go with a sigh and murmured, “Girls.” Blake hummed happily and snuggled closer to her. Yang stared down at her in pure, unadulterated adoration, seeing Blake’s eyes flutter closed. Yang let her own follow suit, and she drifted off to the sound of Blake’s light breathing and the thud of her heartbeat in her ears, held safe by her lover and the warm embrace of ale.

She woke up the next morning with a groan, her head pounding and the light burning hole in her eyes like a million tiny prickers. Yang rolled over, burying her head underneath a pillow and slamming her eyes back shut, but not before realizing that the comforting weight of Blake was gone. “B-Blake?” she mumbled, sitting upright even as her entire body screamed at her to stay still and go back to sleep. The room was empty aside from her, Blake’s gear already gone. Yang felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, but refused to give into it, still one step ahead of her trauma even while hungover. This was helped with the fact that a note was on the foot of the bed and even from the head, Yang could see the heart on it. She leaned forwards, her stomach lurching as she did so. She gagged, adn put one hand to her mouth, allowing her stomach to settle before she finished the motion and grabbed the note gingerly. 

“My dearest Yang,” it read, “I’m heading to the market for a moment to grab some hot food for you. You were sleeping like a rock, so I may be back before you read this. Last night was fun, but for the sake of your liver and my head, let’s do that sparingly, shall we?” Yang snickered softly at that, and read on. “I’ll be back soon, if I’m not already when you wake up. Oh, and as an added treat, guess who I found in the tavern this morning?” Yang furrowed her brow, unsure how she was meant to play a guessing game with a piece of paper, when she read a bit further, eyes focussing on the next few lines in all capital letters and in a handwriting that was undeniably Ruby’s,

“Hey sis!!! Weiss and I finally found you guys! Blake almost attacked Weiss until she explained that she paid for the ferry and stuff!! Winter’s on Patch still, she’s really scary but also nice? Kinda like Weiss is! I like her! Anyways, we’re going to the market with Blake! We’ll be back soon! If you saw any new animals you  _ have _ to tell me! Love you! -Ruby.” Much like when Ruby was speaking, Yang didn’t get a chance to really absorb the words until they were already said, or written in this case, and she almost didn’t have a chance to do that as the door burst open. She flung herself out of bed with a yelp, scrambling for her hammer where it lay against the wall, but only managed to bash her knee on the floor instead. As she recovered slowly, groaning in pain, she heard a familiar voice scream, “Yang!” and was flattened back to the ground immediately when Ruby slammed into her with a hug. 

Yang laughed despite herself and rolled over, wrapping her sister up in a hug. She looked good, older almost, dressed in traveler’s clothes and a red cape with a hood. “Hey Ruby,” she said softly and Ruby smiled gently at her. “HOw’s my favorite sister?”

“Better now that we’re back together,” Ruby whispered and buried her face into Yang’s chest. Yang let out a shaky breath, fighting back tears even as she felt Ruby start to sob with joy. Gods, she thought, it had only been a few weeks. She hadn’t realized how much she missed her family. “How’s Patch? How’re mom and dad?” she asked and Ruby looked up, tears still falling down her cheeks. Yang smiled gently and wiped her tears away with one thumb, then Ruby went back to burying her head into her chest. Explanations could wait. 

Or rather, they couldn’t. Someone cleared their throat and Yang looked up to see WEiss Schnee standing in the doorway awkwardly. Immediately Yang snarled and grabbed her hammer from the wall, but she was cut off by the firm voice of Blake, who she finally saw was sitting at the foot of the bed. “It’s okay, Yang, she’s not here to kill us.”

“Then why is she here at all?” Yang snarled, clutching Ruby protectively and leveling her hammer as though it were a sword. 

“She helped us get off Patch,” Blake said softly, “And she left her weapons there as well. Most of them, anyway,” she gestured at the rapier still on Weiss’ hip and Yang scowled. “If she tries anything, we can take her down, Yang.” Yang took some comfort from that and lowered her hammer, but still kept it gripped tightly. Weiss sighed and leaned on the doorway, folding ehr arms across her chest.

“It’s true,” she murmured, “I paid for the ferry ride. I would’ve gotten you a cart if I could.”

“Why?” Yang hissed and Weiss looked up, nervously meeting her eyes.

“Blake. Blake is why. I grew up thinking that vampires were monsters, that there was no good in them. Most of them still are,” she glanced at Blake, who nodded ruefully, “But she isn’t. She’s...she’s good. You saw that first. You trained with her to keep the bad ones at bay. Right now, the bad ones are looking for her. Winter explained it to me, the leader of the White Fang and some of his elite escaped her. Evidence suggests that they’re looking for Blake.” Yang gasped and her hammer fell to the floor with a clatter. 

She turned to look at Blake with wide eyes, Ruby gripping her tighter as she did so, “So-so you were right? I mean, I believed you but-but-”

“I didn’t want to believe it either,” Blake murmured. “We can’t take down a small pack on our own. Weiss is going to help us get back to get away from them.” Weiss nodded firmly. “We can get to Mistral, or Vacuo, just like we planned.”

“What about Ruby?” Yang asked, furrowing her brow, “Why are you here, huh?” Ruby responded by whining softly and burying her head into Yang’s chest further, making Yang let out a soft sigh of sisterly love.

“She wouldn’t let me leave without her,” Weiss said dryly and Yang snorted with laughter despite herself. “It was good luck that your father was there to back me up, or we’d have brought the cat too.”

“Shroud’s okay?” Blake asked and Weiss nodded. “Oh thank the gods.”

“Besides, she can fight. We silvered her scythe and everything.” Yang frowned at that and looked down at Ruby, who was mumbling agreements. “I’ll keep an eye on her,” Weiss said softly.

“Two eyes,” Yang grumbled, “As often as you can spare them.” Weiss nodded firmly and said,

“I swear it, on my honor as a vampire hunter and as a Schnee.” She frowned and muttered, “That probably doesn’t mean much to you.”

“Not really.”

“On my life then?”

Yang hesitated at that, knowing full well that in the Branwen Company you were careful what you wagered. Raven had beheaded more than one member for staking their life on something stupid. Vows were serious things, after all. She had no desire to become anything like her mother. “How about your rapier?” she offered and Weiss nodded with a grimace. It was a weak compromise and Yang knew it would never make up for any harm coming to her sister, but she also knew that Ruby could take care of herself. That, on top of herself, Blake, and Weiss watching after her, meant that Ruby was probably the safest woman in the city. 

“Well,” Blake said, “If that’s settled, do you want breakfast?” Yang looked over to see her holding out a sandwich with a handful of thick bratwurst and dripping in gravy, the perfect morning meal to fight off a hamburger. 

“Holy fucking shit, yes,” she maoned, snatching it up and tearing into it with reckless abandon. Blake laughed at that, and Weiss’ grimace grew, but Yang was beyond caring. “After this, why don’t we go see what the city has to offer four young women on the town?” Yang nodded and even Ruby perked up at that, headbutting Yang gently in a show of support from their childhood. Yang returned it fondly and Ruby smiled, a beaming thing befitting the joy that Yang felt in her heart at their reunion and could feel radiating off of her sister. 

“Fine,” Weiss muttered, “But if you two start acting all lovey dovey, I’m taking Ruby for her safety. We don’t need to corrupt her mind with your sick perversions.”

“Lovey dovey?” Yang asked and Blake laughed aloud, covering it up with one hand.

“Like this?” She turned and blew a kiss at Yang, who gasped and clasped it in her hand, miming placing it to her heart and swooning from the over-abundant love. Weiss groaned and turned away, nearly storming out the door. The rest of them laughed and even Weiss joined in after a while. If things could keep going this well, Yang mused, this was going to be a great day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We love a good meme reference in this house.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	24. Day Twenty Four-Race

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the team finally reunited, it's time for a tour of the city! Yang makes a big bet on a horse race.

The four young women spent the day wandering the city. Blake and Yang acted as tour guides, as best they could with their limited knowledge of the area. They retraced their steps through the market with Yang excitedly showing them the stall with the motorcycle, which Ruby was equally enthralled with and Weiss thought was a gimmick, and they all shared a shot of ‘vud-kah’. Ruby nearly hacked it up and threw the glass aside, grumbling that she could barely handle ale, never mind this stuff. Weiss, on the other hand, had slung it back and frowned, then muttered, “I’ve had better.” She had then turned to the stall owner and glared at them, freezing them in place long enough for her to growl, “And it’s vodka, v-o-d-k-a. Get it right.” A few patrons had started to turn towards her angrily and Blake and Yang had whisked her away before a fight could break out. 

Fleeing the angry crowd, they had headed deeper into the city, towards the city center where the graduates of Beacon and the common folk met. Here, the city opened up into a series of large fields and race tracks, places where enormous events were held in the course of the seasons. There were races in the fall, ice skating in the cleverly designed pools in the winter, wrestling in the spring, and small, mock gladiatorial arenas in the summer. It was officially billed as a way to keep the citizens active, as anyone could join anything they wanted, but it was really a massive series of betting rings that were technically legal, and so allowed to exist. Insofar as they didn’t fix any of the events, nobody could be called out for breaking the law.

It was the horse racing tracks that grabbed the group's attention, or rather they grabbed Ruby’s attention and everyone had tried to chase her down as she sprinted towards the entrance. There was only a small race on today, a handful of students from Beacon facing all challengers, but that was the last thing that Ruby cared about. She gasped in delight and ran up to the siding around the track, leaning onto it heavily as she stared in wonder at the horses.

Yang came to a sliding stop next to her, breathing heavily and leaning onto the barrier to catch her breath. “Fucking hell, Ruby,” she wheezed, “You can’t just do that in the city.” 

“Hmm? What?” Ruby turned to look at her in surprise and confusion, furrowing her brow as she did so. Yang opened her mouth to explain it, but then smiled fondly and shook her head as Blake and Weiss came to a stop behind them. Blake was fine, if a bit winded, but Weiss was leaning onto her knees and coughing horribly.

That got Ruby and Yang’s attention, and they turned to her as one. “Hey, you okay?” Yang asked, reaching out a comforting hand on instinct, but holding it back. She and Weiss had just barely become allies, that level of support was almost unsciouble. But Weiss still gave her a glance that could almost be called thankful, and muttered,

“Just all that running and the hot air. It doesn't mix well for me.” Yang frowned, having barely even noticed the warmer weather as the seasons twirled into spring. “I’m fine,” Weiss said, pushing herself upright before hacking into her elbow again. “Fine, I mean it.” 

“How cold is it in Atlas?” Yang asked and Weiss snorted derisively.

“Freezing, most of the year. We get a month above that in the summer.” Yang and Ruby grimaced while Blake shuddered in horror at the idea of living somewhere so frigid. Weiss snorted again and stepped up next to Yang at the barrier while Blake settled in beyond Ruby. “So what’s going on here?”

Yang was about to respond and Ruby might have gone off about the horses, but someone had noticed their entrance. He was broad shouldered with brown hair slicked up in a ridiculous looking style, a bird in flight embroidered across the doublet he wore. “Horse races, snow angel,” he said as he walked his horse over, a beautiful chestnut mare who looked like she would rather be carrying anyone else. Ruby gasped as she saw the horse, hands flying to cover her mouth, eyes wide in absolute adoration and joy at the sight of it. “Maybe you and I could race somewhere private?” the man continued, making Weiss recoil in disgust. “I’m Cardin Winchester.” He said the name as though it was something to be proud of, someone that the group should’ve known, but Yang looked between her companions and they shared a blank look. 

“I’m fine,” Weiss said, “Just here for the races.” Cardin nodded knowingly and began to trot his horse in small circles as though to impress them. 

“I’ll be sure to put on a good show, just for you,” he said with a clumsy wink and Weiss rolled her eyes, even as Ruby made a disgusted face. 

“Bet you can’t even win the race,” Ruby muttered, and Cardin snapped his attention to her, glaring openly. “Bet that horse doesn’t even like you.”

“I’ve been riding her for years,” Cardin hissed and Ruby shrugged, unaffected by his attempt at intimidation.

“Doesn’t mean she likes you.”

“Don’t think that any woman likes him,” Yang said dryly and was gratified to see Cardin’s face contort in rage, flushing an angry purple. 

“Listen here you bitch,” he growled, walking his horse up to the barrier and jabbing his finger in Yang’s face. Before he could continue, Yang rested her hand on her hammer with a raised eyebrow to boot and Cardin’s anger faltered, a flash of fear entering his eyes.

“No reason to get angry. Rubes just thinks you’re a shit rider is all,” Yang drawled and Cardin snorted, his confidence returning as best it could.

“And I bet you think you’re better?” he asked and Yang shrugged indifferently.

“I know I’m better. I don’t even have to race you to prove it.” Cardin snarled at her and she held up a hand in a peacemaking gesture, glancing at Blake. “But I didn’t say I wouldn’t.” Blake rolled her eyes with a fond smile while Cardin huffed and yanked his horse away, riding off for a ways before coming back with a viscous grin on his face.

“If you’re so confident, then you won’t mind a little wager,” Cardin growled. Yang shrugged, glancing between her companions with a cocky grin on her face.

“Why not?” she asked, as though bored, “What’re the stakes?”

“If you win, you get my horse,” Cardin said, “and if I win, I get an entire evening with snow angel.”

Yang’s cocky grin shifted into a glare as she heard Weiss reach for her rapier and Blake take a threatening step forward. “Those are hardly-”

“Deal,” Ruby said, and everyone looked over to see her eyes locked on the horse, “It’s a deal.” Cardin huffed victoriously and rode off, and Yang let out a sigh of exasperation.

“Rubes, you can’t just do that,” she said softly, putting an arm around Ruby’s shoulders and hugging her close.

Ruby frowned and stared at the retreating rider, murmuring, “But his horse. She’s so sad with him. She needs to come with us.” Yang ran a hand through her hair and gave Ruby a reassuring squeeze, which made Ruby lean into her side. It was so much like they were kids that for a moment Yang thought she was with Ruby looking over Patch from one of the hills beyond the farmstead, but the moment passed. This was better, she decided, to be adults and share these new moments than wallow in the past.

“I’ll do my best to get her,” she murmured softly and Ruby nodded with a happy hum. Yang turned to Weiss and said, “If I lose, Blake and I can just beat him up for you.”

“If you lose, I’ll kill him,” Weiss said dryly and Yang laughed nervously. She gave Ruby one more reassuring squeeze, then said,

“I should probably go get a horse.” With that she turned to go find a place to sign up for the race. As she passed by Blake, her partner reached out and cupped her waist gently, whispering into her ear,

“Good luck, love.”

“Thanks baby,” Yang murmured, and they shared a quick kiss. Behind them, Weiss groaned aloud and Ruby gagged, which only made the two laugh softly into each other’s lips. Blake slid her arm out from around Yang, and Yang walked off to find someone to talk to about the race.

It wasn’t hard to find someone to talk to about getting into the race, there was even a huge sign for it, and soon Yang was mounted on a black gelding, who was itching to run. Other riders were around her, nearly a dozen all told. Most of them were common folk like Yang, sitting atop their horses with various levels of skill and expertise, but at least four were with Cardin. He and his crew were standing on the far end of the line, joking with one another, sneering at their competition. If Yang hadn’t been committed to winning beforehand, she certainly was now, a small bubbling rage building in her chest.

“S’all right!” the man in charge of the race yelled, “One lap round the ring, no cheating amongst the riders. On yer marks, get set,” he paused for a moment to build up the tension, then shouted, “Go!” 

The riders set off at a flat out sprint. Well, most of them did. Yang set out at a gallop, keeping pace with the back of the pack, Cardin and his group bolted ahead, their horses custom reared for racing, and a handful of riders couldn’t even get their horses to trot forwards. Yang pushed the thought from her mind, focusing her mind on race.

Her horse pounded the dirt as she slowly moved up the group. She knew that it was only one lap, but it was a large track. The horses around her wouldn’t be able to keep a flat sprint for that long. It was just like how Raven had taught her to ride down a fleeing target, let them tire themselves out then use your final burst of speed to catch them. Not for the first time the conflicted emotions Yang had when it came to Raven reared their ugly head, but she pushed them aside. It was time to race. 

She streamed past one other racer, then two, then a third, only two more between her and Cardin’s fellows. On the far side of the track she could just barely hear Ruby leading her companions in a raucous cheer and her heart sang as she pushed forwards gain, passing another racer. Maybe she wouldn’t win, but at least she had her friends. And Weiss. 

The other racers fell well behind and then it was just her and Cardin’s boys. They rounded the halfway mark and, just as Yang had thought, one of them started to slow. She urged her horse a hair faster with a soft tap of her heels and the horse snorted in agreement, pounding his hooves into the dirt and soaring past their competition. 

As they neared Ruby and the others, their excited expressions growing clearer by the second, another one fell behind, then the third. Yang let out a gasp of excitement, of pure adrenaline. She could do this, she really could! 

But Cardin’s horse kept running, never losing speed, never even stumbling. It was just like somebody like Cardin, Yang thought sourly, to keep the best horse for himself. She tucked herself lower on her horse to let the air flow over her, her hair streaking behind her like the trail of a comet. 

Just as they reached Ruby and the others, something incredible happened. Blake’s happy smile faded and she locked eyes with Cardin’s horse. Her eyes flashed orange and she lifted her lip to reveal one long, pointed fang. The horse screamed in panic and stopped short, hooves sending dirt and gravel into the air. Cardin cried out as he was flung from his horse, sailing onto the dirt as Yang thundered passed. She glanced over to see Blake’s eyes back to their normal amber and her lips set in a grim smile. Then Yang sailed by and crossed the finish line, sending the group into hysterical cheering. Even Weiss joined in with polite claps from the sidelines. 

Yang slid off her horse and patted him on the side affectionately, then walked back to the group with a broad smile on her face. Ruby vaulted over the barrier and ran up to her, slamming into her with a flying hug. Yang laughed delightedly as they hugged, swinging Ruby around in a circle as Weiss walked up with a small, appreciative smile.

“Thanks for that,” she murmured and Yang shrugged.

“No problem.” She looked around and asked, “Where’s Blake?” Weiss pointed behind them to find Blake glaring at Cardin, hands on her hips while Cardin gestured wildly.

“...did something! I know you did!” Cardin was yelling, but then he took a small step back, his rage fading into horror as Blake snarled,

“Unless you really  _ want _ me to do something, you will be giving me that horse.”

“B-but-” Cardin tried to protest and Blake snapped,

“Now!” Cardin all but threw the reigns into Blake’s hand before scampering off. Blake sighed and her anger shifted into a sheepish smile as she regarded the horse, who was standing as far from Blake as she could get. “Sorry about that,” she said, “But you’re safe now. You’ll be happier with Ruby.” 

Ruby perked up at the mention of her name and Yang patted her on the back softly. “She’s yours, Ruby.”

“Wait really?” Ruby shrieked, whirling around to face Yang, who nodded with a small smile. With a squeal, Ruby took off towards the horse, slowing to a walk as she approached. She gently stepped up to them, taking the reins from Blake. The moment that Blake backed off the horse relaxed and reached out her neck to nuzzle against Ruby. Ruby giggled at that and Yang smiled fondly at her sister.

“We make quite a group, don’t we?” Weiss said with a small sigh. Yang nodded ruefully at that, and then then all turned to watch Ruby bond with her new horse. Yeah, they really did make quite a group, but Yang was okay with that. She was growing quite attached to their little group. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Team RWBY, back in action! Also Blake would one hundred percent fix a horse race to get Weiss out of a date.  
> I will be haunted by images of Yang fighting off hamburgers with bratwurst for the rest of time, but it's too funny to go back and fix.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	25. Day Twenty Five-Wrestle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the way back to the tavern a mysterious stranger attacks the bees, forcing Blake to make an impossible choice.

Yang couldn’t help but smile as they all walked back to the tavern. Weiss was leading Ruby along on her new horse, fighting to keep a smile off her face as she did so, and Ruby was beaming at everyone, absolutely delighted with the goings on. Blake had entwined her fingers with Yang’s and the two were walking next to Ruby and Weiss in a small island that existed on its own in the sea of people around them. Weiss navigated the city with just as much ease as Blake had, and that was for the best as now they had an entire horse to bring back to the tavern with them.

Ruby had named the horse Crescent Rose immediately and Yang had laughed softly, asking if she was adopting them into the family. With a solemn nod, Ruby had agreed that, yes, she was, and that Crescent Rose was their newest relative. The sisters had laughed and bumped foreheads again, while Blake and Weiss looked on in a mixture of confusion and fondness. 

On the way back, Blake had frowned and patted her side for a moment before cursing. “Shit, I think I dropped my coin purse back at the race track. Yang, you mind coming back with me?” Yang shrugged and waved Weiss and Ruby on ahead, calling out,

“Just tell them you’re with us!” Weiss waved in acknowledgment, Ruby too busy leaning into Crescent Rose to really pay attention. Yang turned and followed Blake back to the race track, which was clearing out as the sun began to set. “Where do you think you lost it?”

“It’s probably just where we were standing,” Blake sighed, “I knew I didn’t tie it tight enough this morning, should’ve double checked.” She stepped halfway through the door and turned back to Yang, smiling reassuringly. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” Yang said softly and Blake ducked into the race track again. Yang sighed and leaned against the wall, folding her arms across her chest. The past few days have been wonderful. She’d gotten to spend time with the most beautiful woman in the world, with whom she was madly in love, reunited with her sister, and started a potential new friendship. She still wasn’t sure where she stood with Weiss, whether they were friends, acquaintances, or simply allies of convenience, but she did owe her for getting them off Patch without a fuss. Yang resolved to pay her back somehow, hopefully once things had calmed down. If Weiss could be convinced that Blake wasn’t a threat, then perhaps Winter could as well. If they teamed up to take down Adam, well, that would just be peachy, wouldn’t it?

There was a cry and a grunt, then the sound of someone being punched. Yang leapt off the wall, hammer in hand immediately, and turned just in time to see Blake skid across the ground out of the track. She was wheezing heavily, her purse clutched tightly to her chest, and her eyes were rolling wildly, until they locked on Yang. “R-run,” she wheezed, and Yang gaped, looking into the race track entrance.

There in the entrance was a man, a wicked smile on his face revealing a pair of long, pointed fangs. He wasn’t Adam, long brown hair where Adam had red and a scorpion tail where Adam had bull’s horns, but he was still clearly a threat. Yang snarled and settled into a fighting stance, wishing that she hadn’t left her crossbow behind. The man was standing there so calmly, so still in his confidence, that a kill shot would’ve been child’s play. As it was, Yang blinked and immediately knew it was a mistake. She flung herself backwards as the man swung at her, closing the distance in an instant and punching clean through the stone wall, his fingers shattering with a sickening crunch. Yang rolled to her feet and flew at the man, swinging her hammer. He flung his arm up to block the blow, the hammer head still crunching into his forearm and making the skin sizzle as the silver made contact. He howled and, faster than Yang could react to, leapt at her. She grunted as he tackled her, wresting on the ground as she tried to gain the upper hand, then screamed as he stabbed something into her side. It wasn’t a normal stab wound, she’d dealt with those before, this one came with a nice helping of burning pain that spread out of the wound like a spider’s web. She looked down to see his tail embedded in her torso and breathed out, “Shit.”

Blake screamed and the man looked up just in time to receive a fist to the face, his nose breaking inwards. He howled in agony and reeled backwards, but Blake was already on him, delivering two thunderous blows to his gut and then one to his throat. Even from the ground, even as her vision began to swim from whatever poison the man had pumped into her, Yang could see that his throat collapsed from that punch alone. He collapsed to the ground, clutching at his throat and swinging his tail wildly at Blake. 

He struck at her chest and Blake leaned with the blow, letting it overextend and snatching it out of the air. She clenched her fist and purpled blood squirted out around her hand. The man screeched and flailed, his tail slamming to the ground. He tried to stab Blake in the back with it even as he batted weakly at her with his fist, but Yang rallied her strength and slammed her hammer down onto his tail. The man bellowed as his tail was pierced through at the stinger and pinned to the ground, but the exertion was too much. Yang let out a soft sigh as she saw Blake get the man in a headlock, then her vision faded to black and she saw no more.

Yang woke up in the tavern, looking as best she could with pain radiating out of her side like an explosion, a new wave with every heartbeat. She groaned and rolled onto her side, or rather she would have if someone hadn’t squeaked and grabbed her by the hip and rolled her back over. She groaned again and tried to bat at them, only for Ruby to say, “Yang, Yang, you gotta stay still.” 

At that Yang froze, even as pain wracked her body. She looked around seeing Blake and Weiss arguing furiously in the corner, while Ruby was sitting on the bed, a soft, concerned smile on her face. “Wha….wha happen?”

“Blake brought you back,” Ruby murmured, “Said that somebody attacked you, a vampire. Weiss was pissed that she wasn’t there to help. Blake thinks that he poisoned you.”

Yang stared at her sister blankly as the words bounced her numbed brain for a few moments, then nodded slowly as the meaning set it. “Makes sense…” She turned her gaze to Weiss and Blake again, whimpering as pain shot through her even as she tried to focus on the conversation. 

“...can’t  _ do _ that Blake! I can’t just sit back while you pass this on!” Weiss hissed and Blake groaned in exasperation.

“I have to, Weiss! That was Tyrion Callows, he’s the most dangerous assassin in the world. There’s no cure to his venom except this, and I’m  _ going _ to save Yang’s life.”

“That doesn’t matter! I’m a fucking vampire hunter, I can’t sit by and let you make more vampires!”

“It’s Yang!”

“Why does she matter so much to you?” Weiss snapped and Blake bristled, suddenly seeming to tower over Weiss as she shouted,

“Because I love her! Because she’s the only person who gets  _ me _ , Weiss! I-I can’t-I don’t-” Her anger broke and she slumped against the wall with a soft whimper, “I don’t wanna travel alone again.” Weiss sighed and shook her head in disbelief, glancing at Yang.

“She’s awake,” she murmured. Blake gasped and leapt onto the bed, crawling up it to lay next to Yang. 

“Hey! Hey, you’re awake,” she cooed and Yang nodded slowly, turning her head to plant a sloppy kiss on Blake’s cheek. The radiating pain, a fire in her veins was spreading from her torso up into her stomach, her lungs. Even with her brain barely functioning, Yang knew that time was running out. 

“You...you’re gonna save me?” Yang slurred and Blake nodded slowly. 

“I can save you. But...I have to turn you, Yang. I have to make you like me. Tyrion’s poison wouldn’t be able to kill you then.” Blake’s face fell and she looked away as Yang furrowed her brow in confused understanding.

“Oh.”

“Only if you want,” Blake whispered, “I won’t do this if you don’t want me to.”

Yang couldn't help but smile. Even now, as she was nearing death with the fire smoldering towards her neck and down her legs, Blake was willing to let her choose. The fact that Blake was still giving her a choice made Yang so ludicrously happy that she would’ve leapt onto her with a kiss if she could. The poison burned towards her feet and into her cheeks and Yang looked around, meeting Ruby’s terrified expression, Weiss’ nervous expectation, and Blake’s strangled sorrow and hope. That was all it took to make up her mind. She had never abandoned her family before, and she would be damned if she was going to let something as petty as death get in her way.

“Y-you gotta,” Yang slurred as she felt the fire burn up her veins and towards her heart. “Itss the only way.” Blake turned to her, tears streaming down her face and Yang reached up as best she could, her arm shaky and unsteady, stroking down Blake’s cheek. “I trus’ you.” The fire reached her heart and the world started to go black as the thudding in her chest began to slow. Yang’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and Blake screamed, Ruby shrieking in horror. The last thing she saw was Blake tearing at her hand with her teeth and reaching towards her mouth, then she faded into darkness.

Yang woke up. It wasn’t like waking up before, where she had slowly come to, blinking her drowsiness away and standing sluggishly as she stumbled to the kitchen for breakfast. Rather, she snapped awake, sleep banished in a split second to the furthest reaches of her mind as she sat up, ramrod straight. Her mind felt like it had been stomped on by a horse and then ground up, rebuilt from the pieces into herself again and then shoved into her head like one would garbage down a chute.

What else could explain how she was feeling?

Normally, birdsong crept into the room like a whisper, gently caressing her ears and waking her slowly as she came out of sleep like a gentle blanket. She would wake up slowly, the smell of breakfast in the oven drawing her downstairs like a siren song. The room would be blearly as she woke up, slowly pushing away the fogginess in her mind and her eyes with each moment, each sip of coffee that she needed like air in the mornings.

Now, that was nowhere to be found. Normal had been left behind and in its place was something new and complex and utterly terrifying.  _ Everything _ was  _ everywhere _ ,  _ all the time _ . Yang was buffeted by sound, by smell, by sight. She could see the spider webs in the corner standing out like wire, she could pick a fly out of the shadows like an ox in a sheep paddock. Down the street, someone was arguing about bread prices and a child was hawking newspapers ten blocks away. Horses snorted as they passed one another, someone was telling a friend that they ‘didn’t really mean to steal from their employer, but they just left jewels out all the time, so what were they to do?’ Three miles away there was a meat pie coming out of the oven at a pie shop, made of pigeon, pig bladder, and rat. The cobbles smelled like rain that had fallen two weeks ago.  _ Everything _ was  _ everywhere _ and all of it was surrounded by that thumping, that thudding, that  _ pulse _ .  _ Everything _ was  _ everywhere _ and  _ everything _ was  _ blood _ . 

Yang felt her heart beat faster in her chest, or perhaps she only thought she did, but regardless it pounded at her chest like it was trying to escape. Her breaths were short and light, her lungs working twice as hard to pump oxygen to a body that no longer needed it to live. “Blake?” she called out, her voice rising in pan-

Her voice was yellow.

Yang didn’t know what the fuck that meant, but she knew, unoquivically, that when she spoke her voice was yellow. Every phrase, every pause, every joke, everything about how she spoke was yellow. She knew it like she knew that the sky was blue and if she dropped something it would fall to the ground. She knew it the same way that she knew that Blake’s voice was purple, Ruby’s was red, and Weiss’ was blue. 

She clutched her head in her hands, trying to push out the sound, trying to ignore the smells, the sights, the lack of threads in a spot on the blanket over her knee, the wafting scent of illicit gold from two miles away, the man who was desperately trying to convince his banker to loan him more Lien, the horses, the children, the food, the cloth, the-the-the-th-

Yang woke up again. She could feel a cut on her tongue, and felt around in her mouth, gasping softly as she found two long, dangerous fangs that had certainly not been there the day before. But that could come later. Her head felt heavy and she reached up with a moan to feel a heavy blanket wrapped around it, muffling the sounds from outside. The window was closed and the door latched. She could smell it, just like she could smell horse hair and charcoal in one corner of the room, oil and silver in the other. She sat up slowly, eyes jammed shut to keep out the thousand and one things she could see now. She couldn't handle it, not all at once. 

A red voice spoke, piercing through the cloth like a needle, straight into Yang’s ear. “Hey. You feeling better?” Yang whimpered and buried her head against her knees, clutching her ears with both hands. “Sorry about the cloth,” Ruby murmured, “You were screaming about it being too loud in here so I...You fell asleep after I did that.”

“She turned you, didn’t she?” the blue voice asked and Yang whimpered again. Weiss sighed and a stake slid out of the leather at her side, the sound so piercing and so all encompassing that it surrounded Yang’s mind like a fog until it was all she could hear, deafening even the shout from Ruby and the way her scythe sliced the air.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Ruby hissed and Weiss turned to her with a glare.

“She’s a monster, Ruby. Besides, she’s clearly in pain. It’s for everyone’s sake.” Weiss’ tone was soothing but from Ruby’s snarl it had little effect.

“I’ll split your fucking gut open if you take another step towards her.” There was a long moment of silence, or it would have been silence if the entire City of Vale could just stop talking for a moment, could stop hawking wares, could stop complaining about the lack of a modern sewer system, if they could just all  _ shut up _ and give her a moment to  _ think _ .

Yang screeched and flung herself backwards, grabbing a pillow and burying her head underneath it. The sound was muffled, only a hair but it was enough to give her some peace. Her head stopped pounding so hard, her body stopped feeling like it wanted to convulse from the sheer amount of  _ everything _ that was  _ everywhere _ . The stake slid back into the leather and the blue voice said,

“You’re serious.” It was a statement, not a question, said in the kind of way where you know the person doesn’t need to ask to know for sure. 

“I’m serious,” the red voice replied, slowly setting her scythe back against the wall and slumping into a seat. “She’s my sister, Weiss. I’m gonna protect her. You of all people should know what that’s like.”

Weiss sighed heavily and leaned against the wall, folding her arms across her chest. She’d eaten toast and had lukewarm citrus tea seventeen minutes ago. Yang could smell it. “Yeah, I get that. It’s...habit.” There was another long moment of what must have been silence for them, then, “You know that if she-”

“She won’t.” Ruby’s voice was firm with conviction, a stubborn faithfulness that slowly seeped into Yang’s heart and colored her golden spirit red, complementing the purple that swirled and danced with the gold in her heart. “I know she won’t.”

Wiess sighed again. The toast had raspberry jam, applied diagonally at a forty seven degree angle. Ruby hadn’t eaten breakfast yet and Yang scowled through her agony. She’d need to make sure her sister had a good lunch to make up for it. “She’d better not. I will come out of retirement to put her down if she doesn’t.”

“You’re retiring?”

“What?” Weiss asked, confusion flooding her voice, “No, I’m not-I’m saying that if she does start feeding willy nilly after I’ve retired in another forty years, then I’ll come back out of retirement to take her down.”

“Oh.” 

“Yeah.” More apparent silence, the sound still almost too much to bear. Yang started rocking back and forth on the bed, moaning as she covered her ears, trying to block out the sound of the world around her. 

But then a thought wormed its way into her head. She had expected it to be about feeding, but it wasn’t. It was far worse, and it made her heart plummet. She spoke, her voice yellow and pained, “Ruby?”

“Yang?” Ruby said, pushing herself upright and rushing to her sister’s side, gently grabbing her hand, accidentally pulling it away from her ear. Yang whimpered and sank into herself, the sound of a cat yowling almost raking her very thoughts from her mind, only held at bay by Ruby's frantic whispered apologies. After a long moment Yang regained her composure and asked,

“Ruby, where’s Blake?” 

Ruby glanced back at Weiss, who shrugged. “I...we don’t know, Yang. She left after she-after she turned you.” 

“You should be able to find her,” Weiss said softly, “She’s your master now, after all. Vampires can always find their master.”

No, she wasn’t. Yang knew that just as strongly as she knew herself, as she knew her hammer in her hand. That was why she didn’t need to feed. Blake had given her some of her own blood. Yang was no more bound to Blake as a servant than she was to the clouds in the sky. 

She shoved herself upright, ignoring her body’s cries of protest and threw herself off the bed. Immediately Weiss and Ruby were at her side, each one grabbing an arm to keep her from collapsing to the floor. “I’ve gotta find her,” Yang slurred, firmly planting her feet beneath her. She stood slowly, finding that her legs were sturdy even while they felt like jelly. 

“We’re gonna help you,” Ruby said and Yang shook her head. 

“No,” she said flatly, “I have to do this alone.” She slid her arm out of Ruby’s grip and wrenched open the door. Or rather, she would have if she hadn’t torn the door clean off its hinges, smashing it into a thousand pieces as it slammed into the doorframe. Yang could only stare aghast at the door handle in her hand, the splinters of wood sticking out of it the only part of the door that hadn’t been swiftly turned to sawdust. “Shit,” she breathed out, the door handle falling to the floor with a metallic thud. 

“We’re coming with you,” Weiss said and Yang nodded. Yeah, that was probably for the best that they come with, she realized. More eyes could find Blake faster, and right now that was all that Yang could think about. Weiss and Ruby threw on their jackets and grabbed their weapons, then dressed Yang, who was still standing in the doorway in shock. She numbly adjusted the strap on her crossbow and rested her hand on her hammer out of instinct, not even reacting when Ruby shoved balled up cloth into her ears. With the sound muffled as best as it could be, they followed Weiss out the door. 

As they made their way out of the tavern and to the street, Ruby murmured, “Are you sure you can find Blake?”

“Can I?” Weiss scoffed and Ruby furrowed her brow in confusion. 

“Can you?”

“Of course I can!” Weiss snapped, glaring at the ground as she led the way into the City of Vale. Ruby grabbed Yang’s hand gently, and led her out the door with a smile that was at once apologetic and excited. Yang grit her teeth. Her agony could wait, even as the  _ everything _ got to be  _ more _ . Finding Blake was all that mattered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to the angst! It was fun while it lasted, right?  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	26. Day Twenty Six-Cower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake runs after turning Yang into a vampire, too ashamed of herself to stay. The others race around the city to find her.

Clocktowers were never the perfect place to hide. Mostly, they were loud, cramped, and unfortunately central in whatever town you were staying in, but they also provided an excellent vantage point of the area around you, and that was what Blake wanted most. It was also nice that there were no windows or mirrors in the clocktower, just open holes in the wall for pigeons to fly in and out, roosting in the rafters above. Nothing in the clocktower could reflect Blake’s face, not even the copper bell, faded and dulled as it was with time. She didn’t think she would ever be able to look herself in the face again. 

She had done the one thing that she had sworn never to do: she’d spread the curse, turned someone into a vampire and damned them to an existence like hers. Worse still, she had turned Yang, the woman she loved, the woman she had dedicated her life to protecting. She couldn’t even imagine how Yang was feeling right now, the shock at how much there really was going on in the world once you had the senses to comprehend it all, the mind shattering realization at how  _ much _ everything was. It had taken Blake months to come to terms with it, and sometimes she still found herself overwhelmed, more often than not when breathing in Yang’s scent of citrus and lavender. 

What truly made Blake ashamed, what threw her into the throws of depression and anxiety with which she was so intimately familiar, was the fact that she had run. It had been too much to handle, too much to comprehend that she had turned Yang. She could still remember the gold veins that spread through Yang’s lilac eyes, a visible signal of Blake’s control over her. She could remember the unnerving shock of power that had rocked her body when she had told Yang to sit and she had done so without question, when she had told Yang to stand and she had immediately shot to her feet. That was the way control worked for newly turned vampires, undeniable obedience. It was the feeling had twisted Adam beyond recognition and the nature of Blake’s life for nearly two centuries. The feeling of power and control it had given her was followed by an equally strong bolt of horror and Blake had all but ripped a chunk of her flesh off to feed Yang her first taste of blood. The same taste of blood made the amber veins recede as Blake’s hold on her faded entirely, giving Yang full control of herself once more. The thought of controlling someone like that had terrified Blake. It was the beginning of a slippery slope to winding up just like Adam. Blake refused to be anything like him.

But still she had run. It was what she was good at, after all. She had run from her parents when they had questioned her being with Adam, she had run from Adam the moment she had free will once more, she had run from Yang when she had assumed that she was looking in her book, and now she had run again. Running seemed like the only thing she knew how to do these days. 

And so she took cover in the clocktower, cowering and hoping against hope that Yang would head back to Patch with a broken heart and thirst for blood. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t kind, but it was all that Blake had to hold onto right now. She couldn’t risk being like Adam. Maybe in a few hundred years she could find Yang again and they could talk things out. Maybe things could go back to the way they were. She rather doubted it.

Blake might have stayed in that clocktower for weeks, just to be sure that she wouldn’t run into Yang, Ruby, or Weiss on her way out of town. She would gladly starve herself again just to give the illusion that she had left already. What she had never expected was a familiar yellow voice rising up from the street below in a whisper, a barely-there murmur that she almost missed, even with her enhanced senses.

“Blake?” Yang whispered. Blake felt her heart stop, or at least she thought she had. Such things were impossible, but what was possible was the way that her throat closed up like she’d been punched in the throat. She couldn’t speak, she could barely draw breath, even as Yang whispered, “Blake are you up there?” 

It was a long while before Blake was able to speak at all, and even then it was just a whisper. But she knew that Yang could hear her, just as she could hear Yang. “I’m here.” 

“Wh-why did-” Yang started to say, then cut herself off with a sniffle. She took a deep breath and breathed out, “Why?” 

A thousand different options flew into Blake’s mind, a million different reasons, excuses, and lies, every one of them more damaging and harmful than the last. Blake pushed them all to the side with a physical effort. Yang had been nothing but trusting and kind with her. It would be a shame to be any other way in return. “I was scared,” she said softly, giving voice to the worries in her head, “I was so fucking scared.” Yang said nothing, but Blake heard a soft huff from her. It was still strange to her, even now after so many years, that should pick out a person’s voice so well across such a distance. The clocktower’s mechanisms did nothing to dampen her hearing, if anything it only made her focus more on Yang’s voice, the soft murmur of,

“Why were you scared, Blake? You...you  _ knew _ what you were doing. I agreed to it, we both knew. Why did you...why?”

Blake opened her mouth to speak, then let out a sigh that she knew Yang heard. “It sounds stupid out loud.” 

“No it doesn’t,” Yang said softly, “Not if it’s you. It’s real, Blake, everything that you’re feeling. It’s not stupid, it’s not something you can just ignore. It just...just…” There was a pause and the blue voice of Weiss muttered,

“Unfounded.”

“Unfounded, yeah. The fear is real, even if the reason isn’t,” Yang whispered. “Please, Blake. Come down. You don’t need to be scared. I chose this.”

Blake shuddered and curled in on herself, muttering, “I  _ turned _ you, Yang. I did the one thing that I swore I never would. I can’t go back on that. I can’t just...I’m like him now.”

“You’re nothing like him,” Yang said firmly and Blake gasped in surprise at how the sudden surge of agreement in her chest. “You did this to save someone you love, he did it for power, for control. You’re selfless, Blake. You care so fucking much that you asked me if I wanted this.” She sighed and murmured, “Blake, you’re nothing like him. I trusted you on Patch, I still trust you now. Please, come down to us.” Blake let out a choked sob and curled into a ball, tears falling openly onto her knees as she wept. “Blake...baby,” Yang’s voice was soft and gentle, far more gentle than Blake thought she deserved. “Please, Blake, let me help you.” 

Blake let out a watery laugh at that. Even now, in the throes of the change that made the world a strange and wonderfully terrifying tapestry of sensation, Yang was still looking out for everyone else. It was almost a miracle that she had said that Blake cared so much when she was willing to be out in public, bombarded by sound and sight and smell. That memory of waking up after the change and suddenly feeling like her mind was being ripped to pieces from how  _ much _ there was in the world was one that Blake remembered with perfect clarity. 

She couldn’t run. She couldn’t leave Yang to figure it out, to just get used to seeing the world and everything in it all at once. That’s what had been done to her, and Blake had nearly gone mad until she had found a pool deep enough to shove her head into. It dampened the sound enough to collect her thoughts, cut the smells, and if she jammed her eyes shut she didn’t even see the sun slicing patterns into her eyes as it refracted from the water. SHe’d stayed under the water for nearly two days untils he thought was able to face the world again. Not needing to breathe had its perks. 

“Okay,” she said softly, “I’m coming down.” True to form, she descended the clocktower, slowly and methodically gathering her thoughts into a speech, everything that she would have wanted to know when she had first been turned. She went over the best ways to hunt, how to know when vampire hunters were in town, proper fang care, how different blood types could affect your body depending on your own blood type, everything. All of it was banished from her mind immediately when she saw Yang. She was smiling weakly, leaning heavily on Ruby with cloth shoved into her ears. Blake let out a strangled cry and flung herself at her. The two collided in a hug and Yang buried her face into Blake’s shoulder with a contented sigh. “I’m here, Yang,” Blake whispered, “I’m here.” Yang hummed softly and hugged her tighter until there was no more space between them. 

They spent a good two hours hugging by the clocktower. It wasn’t just hugging, of course, that was just the easiest way to explain things to Yang without forcing her to take the cloth out of her ears. Blake knew she could hear her, even if Weiss and Ruby had started to shuffle awkwardly and mutter about the weather. 

Finally, Ruby and Weiss had convinced them to head back to the tavern, and there they had lain for the rest of the day. Blake rested her head on Yang’s chest and continued explaining things to her, and Yang had quietly listened, stroking her hair with one gentle hand. Ruby and Weiss came and went, checking in to make sure everything was going well. It always was, or rather it was until the most important part about being a vampire came up: feeding.

“I don’t want to,” Yang murmured, “I know I have to, cause otherwise I’ll go blood mad, but...How can I do that?”

“It’s not easy. It’s never easy,” Blake whispered, “That’s why I go after the people I do, the worst parts of the world. I can stomach it better.” 

Yang nodded slowly at that, considering her next words carefully. “How do you even start finding someone like that?” 

“In a place like this?” Blake said with a small snort of laughter, “Head to the tavern. There’s always somebody nasty hanging around there.” Yang gestured at the room and Blake rolled her eyes fondly. “A different tavern than the one you’re staying at, preferably.” Yang laughed at that and Blake snickered softly. 

There was silence for a long while, each woman in her own thoughts. Blake wanted to explain to Yang how important it was, how terrifying being blood mad really was. She hadn’t been able to look herself in the face for years after the one time she had gone blood mad. It had been an artificial thing, forced by Adam to convince her to feed when she needed, to break her spirit. It had only made her more resolved to feed on her own terms. Eventually, after a long while, Yang murmured, “I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“Not really, love,” Blake whispered, “It’s like eating food for a mortal. You have to or you start to panic, eating anything in sight, and then…” She trailed off meaningfully and Yang nodded slowly. “We don’t have to feed tonight. I gave you some of my blood when I turned you, and then again afterwards to break the control. We should be fine for another few weeks before it gets really bad.”

“Okay,” Yang breathed out, “Okay.”

“Let’s just rest for a while,” Blake whispered and Yang agreed with a long, low groan. They snuggled closer, Blake resting her head on Yang’s shoulder and Yang slinging an arm about her waist, then they closed their eyes and waited for time to pass, content to be with one another.

The first feeding was always the hardest.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Blake asked softly and Yang nodded. A tavern was up the street, a different one than where they were staying, and Yang was nervously eyeing the crowd that had spilled outside. “We don’t have to do this tonight.”

“If I don’t do it tonight, I won’t do it at all,” Yang whispered, “I talked to Ruby about it.”

“What’d she think?” Blake asked and Yang sighed with a fond smile.

“She was supportive. It was like she understood what it was like. That’s Ruby for you.” Blake snorted softly at that and Yang’s smile grew slightly, a hair larger to show her amusement. “Weiss wasn’t as big a fan of the idea.”

“You talked to Weiss about it?”

“I didn’t know what else to do. I don’t know if I was looking for approval or psyching myself up or what,” Yang muttered, “But I did. She was angry for a while, that’s why she didn’t talk to us for a few days,” Blake grunted in recognition, “But eventually she said that she was willing to let it go. As long as we only feed on the worst kind of people, you know? Like you do.” 

“Right,” Blake said softly. She reached out and gave Yang’s hand a reassuring squeeze, receiving one in return as well. “I’ll be right behind you, okay?” Yang smiled at her softly, and nodded. “Let’s go, love.”

The walk to the tavern was slow and halting, every shout of joy as people cheered or yell of anger as someone cheated at cards making Yang wince. Eventually though, they managed to reach the outskirts of the overflow and Yang stood stock still. Blake gave her another reassuring squeeze. They didn’t have to go in if it was too much.

Fortunately, trouble came to them. Even through the crowd Blake could pick out nearly everyone inside and one familiar face caught her eye. Cardin Winchester sat at the bar, flirting heavily with a young woman whose friends were glaring openly at the man. The woman turned to say something to them, and the moment that her attention was diverted Cardin slipped something into her drink, pouring a small vial into her tankard. Blake turned to point him out to Yang, but Yang was already walking towards him, pushing through the crowd with a determined set to her jaw. Blake couldn’t help but smile at the sight. That was her Yang, back in action. 

She followed through the gap that Yang made in the crowd, apologizing as she went, and the two wound up at the bar. Inside the sound was deafening and Blake flattened her ears atop her head. She could only imagine how horrible it must have been for Yang to be in here, hearing all this at once and all the streets beyond without any way to comprehend it, but still the blonde leaned on the bar next to Cardin and shouted,

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Cardin turned to her and his placid expression set into a snarl as she recognized Yang. “What do you want?”

“Just saying hello to an old friend,” Yang said with a wink and she swept her hand upwards as though to reach out for a handshake. In the motion, she knocked over both Cardin and the woman’s tankards, spilling them onto Cardin’s shirt. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry!” Yang exclaimed, then waved at the bartender, “Another two ales right here!” she yelled but Cardin growled and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. Blake tensed up behind her and Cardin’s eye flicked to her for a moment. A sliver of recognition passed through his face, but it was gone just as quickly, lost behind his anger.

“You bitch!” he snapped, “I have half a mind to beat you senseless for that!” Yang smiled sheepishly, looking away. Blake followed her gaze and was gratified to see the woman and her friends beating a hasty retreat from the furious man. Yang turned back to Cardin and threw on her best cocky grin, arrogance dripping from her every move.

“Wanna bet on it?” 

Cardin snarled and leapt up from the bar, dragging Yang out the door. Blake made a mental note to remind Yang that she could easily overpower a mortal now, but that could wait. Right now she booked it behind them as Cardin stormed out of the tavern, dragging Yang down a nearby alley. “Now,” he growled, shoving her against a wall, “Why don’t you show me how tough you are?” Yang froze, her expression midway between cocky and terrified. Blake knew the look, she’d seen it a thousand times on young vampires. The first feed was always the hardest.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Blake hissed and Cardin yelped as she kicked the back of his knee. He fell to the ground and Blake leapt on him, sinking her fangs into his neck in one savage motion. Cardin whimpered, beating uselessly at her with one hand, while Blake looked up at Yang. She motioned for her to join in and Yang slowly lowered her head to Cardin’s neck. With halting, tentative motions, she raised her lips and opened her mouth, revealing her new fangs. Then, with speed belaying how new she was at being a vampire, she bit down. 

The feeding lasted only a few more moments after that. A single vampire could drain an adult human in less that a minute, two was much faster. As Cardin slumped to the side, now thoroughly dead, Yang scrambled again, wiping at her mouth as though to clean herself of the blood. 

“Hey, hey!” Blake said, running after her. She slid to the ground beside her, wrapping her up in a hug. Yang broke into a sob at that, crying openly into Blake’s chest. “Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Blake said softly, cooing into Yang’s ears, “It’s over. We don’t have to feed for at least another month. You’re okay, Yang.”

Yang nodded slowly, glancing up at Blake from where she was pressed against her chest. “I-I tried to make it quick. Like you do with a dagger and the person’s too wounded to save.” 

“I know, love,” Blake said softly, and Yang wailed, burying her head against Blake’s chest again. “I know. It’s over now. It’s okay.”

The first feeding was always the hardest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately this is gonna be one long angst fest for a little while. Have fun!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	27. Day Twenty Seven-Goat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake comforts Yang after her first feeding, and the group receives a stunning letter.

Yang locked herself in the tavern room for a week after they fed on Cardin. Blake couldn’t blame her, not in the slightest. She would have done the same if Adam hadn’t ordered her to be by his side. So she slept in the barn with the horses and let Yang do what she needed to do. It was never easy, feeding. Blake still hated it, and she could tell that Yang did as well. It would take time to come to terms with it, and time meant more feedings. It was a vicious cycle and one that made Blake determined to be there for Yang. 

At the end of the week, Yang stumbled into the barn, pushing open the door with leaden fingers. Blake perked up from her book, looking over with a soft smile, “Hey,” she said, “How are you doing?”

“I hate myself,” Yang grunted as she slumped down next to Blake. “I hate that we did that. I mean...he was an asshole. What he did to that drink...what he was going to do...Cardin was a shitbag, but I still hate myself for feeding on him. It’s like using him as cattle.”

“Don’t think like that,” Blake murmured, wrapping a comforting arm around Yang. Yang leaned into her embrace as Blake continued, “You can’t think about it like that, otherwise you wind up like the White Fang did. We feed because we have to, not because we want to.”

“And we always go for the worst of the worst,” Yang muttered and Blake nodded slowly.

“It sucks, Yang. I’m not gonna lie to you, it really does. But eventually, you get used to it.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t.” 

Blake grunted in agreement and Yang snuggled closer. She didn’t say anything else, and Blake had no wise words of her own, so they simply sat there. Blake read and Yang nuzzled against her gently as she lay there. It was peaceful, as much as it could be considering the circumstances. Blake liked the peace and she knew that Yang did too. They would get back to where they had been. It would just take time.

For now though, Blake held her partner close, rubbing comforting circles into the small of her back as she read. Yang hummed softly and reached up a hand, running her fingers through Blake’s hair and making her shiver from the contact. A lot of things were different now, more than Blake could even begin to reckon with, but at least she had Yang with her. That was what she had been missing, she realized, the same reason why she had insisted on keeping Shroud. She wanted someone with her, someone to rely on who didn’t want to use her as a method of control. All that Adam had ever wanted was power, at any cost, and Blake had suffered more than she dared to remember. With Yang, there was none of that, only a gentle understanding and respect. It had been so long since Blake had been respected by someone the way that Yang did that it was almost alien to her. She had spent so long being used as a tool that the idea that someone would respect her agency enough to always ask for permission, to always give her the space she needed, was almost frightening. Even now, with Yang breathing softly and playing with her hair, she had to fight the hisses of paranoia and anxiety that lurked in her brain. Yang wasn’t Adam, she was nothing like him. He was destructive, violent, and cruel. Yang was gentle, kind, and caring. To compare the two was almost inconceivable. 

“I miss sleeping,” Yang muttered, breaking Blake out of her reverie. Blake nodded slowly with a long, heavy sigh.

“Yeah. Me too.” She snorted with laughter then muttered, “You can pass out from blood loss, but I wouldn’t recommend it.” Yang laughed at that, still playing with Blake’s hair as they lay in the stable. There was a long moment of silence, or as silent as it could be with the animals around them and the entire city beyond that, but then Yang said, 

“At least we have each other.” 

“Do you still want to?” The words were out of her mouth before Blake had ever realized that she’d had the thought to say them. Yang twisted in her arms until they were face to face, her brow furrowed in confusion. “I...I mean…” Blake said, trying to come up with an explanation, then her face fell and she looked away. “You know what I mean.”

“I know,” Yang whispered, gently reaching over to clasp Blake’s hand, “I know. Of course I still want to, Blake. I love you, even with everything else.” She let out a choked laugh and said, “I’m gonna need a few centuries to come to terms with it all, but...I’m willing to do this. I’m willing to make it work.” She smiled softly at Blake and Blake could feel her heart suddenly become overwhelmed with love and adoration for the woman in front of her. “Dad always said that love was work. It’s worth it, all the joy and the memories, but it’s work.” She gave Blake’s hand a reassuring squeeze and said, “I’m willing to put in the work with you.” 

Blake let out a watery laugh and leaned forwards, gently kissing Yang as tears began to fall down her cheeks. Her book fell away as Yang smiled into the kiss and reached up on hand, wiping away her tears with her thumb as she cupped her cheek. “Y-yeah,” Blake managed, “Me too.” They laughed again, a halting, stuttering affair mixed with sobs and tears as they kissed. Blake wondered if every couple had a moment like this. She rather doubted they all had to do with immortality and vampirism, but rather a reckoning of themselves, baring their souls for one another and falling in love all over again. 

Maybe they did, or maybe it was just her and Yang. Maybe it was their special moment to share together, them and them alone. Blake hadn’t seen enough of the world to know, and perhaps she never would, but gods she wanted to spend every moment with Yang after this. Every moment of every day, spent with the woman she loved more than anyone else in the world. 

The next morning the two of them wandered into the tavern to find it the usual bustling affair that it was. The barkeeps were running back and forth to keep up with everyone’s breakfast orders, all but throwing mugs of tea and coffee and patrons that lined the bar. In the center of it all were Ruby and Weiss. Blake frowned as she saw them. THey were both sitting quietly, reserved almost, and that in itself was the reason she was concerned. She expected Weiss to be reserved, she was still an icy caricature of a human most days, but Ruby was bouncing off the walls at all hours, asking questions or drawing. Instead of all that, they sat in silence, a single slip of paper in between them on the table. 

Yang noticed as well and wrapped a comforting arm around her sister’s shoulders. “Hey Rubes. What’s going on? You sleep well?” Ruby grunted noncommittally and gestured at the paper. Yang picked it up gingerly, as though it were going to burn her, and as she read her eyes widened at first in realization, then in horror. Blake knew what it said even before Yang passed it to her with a trembling hand. She knew the handwriting, then cadence it was written with, the drawn goat horns in way of a signature. Her breath caught in her chest and her blood froze in her veins as she read the single sentence upon that piece of paper, one that she had known was coming for a long time. 

“You should never have left the humans undefended, my love.”


	28. Day Twenty Eight-Suit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Adam's warning ringing in their ears, the members of team RWBY prepare for their final confrontation.

Yang could only stand stock still, frozen by horror at what she had read. Of course they had come for Patch. Where else? She and Blake had been so busy worrying about themselves and getting away from the Schnees that they had never even thought that Adam would attack the people they loved most. They had considered themselves too important.

“This is what he does,” Blake hissed, crushing the note in her hand as the fear in her eye was joined by a flaming surge of rage, “He goes after the people you love to make you compliant. Shit.  _ Shit! _ ” Yang collapsed into a chair beside Ruby and put her head in her hands, breathing heavily. Her sister leaned against her, her entire body shaking and nearly rattling the chair against the floor. With a whimper, Ruby started to collapse in on herself, and Yang turned, wrapping her up in a hug. It was a desperate attempt to make her feel better, to given Ruby even a sliver of hope, but Yang had none to give. An entire vampire pack was descending on their home, and they were weeks away. 

“Wh-what do we do?” Yang whispered, knowing that Blake would hear her. Blake shook her head meekly, tossing the note aside with an angry grunt. They had come so far, done so much. Everything was different now, but it didn’t matter. Her family was in danger, and Yang was to shocked to move.

“We go back,” Weiss said, drawing everyone’s attention to her, even Ruby peeking up over Yang’s shoulder. “We have to. Your family is in danger, Winter can’t handle a whole pack on her own.” There was silence as everyone processed the words, faces contorting in confusion and amazement, more at the fact that Weiss could appear, as ever, calm and collected even with the threat of a vampire attack on an entire island. She glanced between them all, blue eyes raking across silver, lilac, and amber, before she sighed heavily and said, “Well? Let’s go.” With that she stood and headed for the stairs. The rest of the group could only stare as she began to climb up towards their rooms. She stopped and looked back at them, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “Just get the horses ready, I’ll meet you out there with our things.”

That got everyone moving, their motions mechanical and jerky, but nonetheless they were moving. Ruby got Crescent Rose ready and led her out of the stable while Yang and Blake got their cart ready to move. 

“We’ll need to take breaks,” Yang murmured as she gently tugged on the reigns to get their horse to stand still, the animal pawing at the ground in anticipation for their trip, “The horses can’t take it if we don’t.”

“Every second we wait is another moment that Adam closes in on Patch,” Blake grumbled, “We can’t risk it.”

“Blake, even vampires need to rest. Adam does too, and if he’s anywhere as thorough as you say he is he’s not going to attack them exhausted.”

“He doesn’t need to rest as long as the horses,” Blake muttered, “We don’t have time.” Yang sighed and nodded in rueful agreement. If Adam knew where Patch was, chances were he would be heading there now. Even now, waiting for Weiss, was taking up precious time, every second twisting Yang’s gut further into a knot. She and Blake could make it to Patch long before Ruby and Weiss on the horses, but they would be outnumbered by the White Fang. Even if they could convince Winter Schnee to join them, it would still be an unfair fight. Yang let out a heavy breath, fighting to keep the smoldering ember of hope alive, but it was a losing fight. They were all doomed, Adam would tear through Patch like he had so many other places. It was almost pointless to go back at all.

“We might have time, actually,” Ruby murmured, and Yang furrowed her brow as she turned to her sister.

“How?” she asked and Ruby frowned, fidgeting with the reins as she sat. Fear still plagued her eyes, but there was a spark of the same fierce intellect that had let Ruby think her way out of everything from chores to jail time. 

“He just said ‘the humans’ in the note,” Ruby said softly, “The humans. Not ‘the island’ or ‘Patch’, just ‘the humans’.”

“So?” Blake said with a heavy sigh as she clambered up into the cart. Ruby huffed and her frown deepened at the interruption, making Blake look away sheepishly. “Sorry.” 

“ _ So _ he might not know where they are. He knows they exist, cause of, you know, Yang and I, but if he doesn’t know where we come from he can’t go after our families.” Ruby looked between the other two women like it were the most obvious thing in the world. “So we go somewhere else, somewhere we can set a trap or something.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Weiss said as she appeared near them, making Blake and Yand jump in surprise. Yang had started to get used to hearing everything at once, but it was still difficult to pick everything out individually when she was focusing on something else. Weiss might as well have formed from smoke. “We find somewhere else to hole up, let everyone know what’s going on and where we are,” Weiss continued, without even noticing Yang’s heavy breaths as she tried to calm her heartbeat. Imagined heartbeat? Blake wasn’t sure either.

“Why let them know?” Blake asked and Weiss grunted as she hoisted the iron chest into the cart, the rest of their things already stowed away.

“I want Winter there with me when we fight the White Fang. It wouldn't be right to take them down without her,” Weiss said, then headed into the stables. “You can get going, I’ll catch you up on my horse.” 

“No,” Yang said, “We should stick together. The last thing we need is someone falling behind and getting caught out by the White Fang.” Weiss pursed her lips at that, then nodded slowly in agreement. Yang sighed and climbed up into the cart, noticing that Blake had the reins gripped so tightly she might have fused them with her hands. “Hey,” she said softly, reaching over to put an arm around her, “It’s okay. We’ll be able to do this. We’ll take him down.”

“Together?” Blake whispered and Yang nodded solemnly.

“Together.” 

Two weeks later and things were finally in motion. Weiss had picked out their spot, a small valley with a river running through it that fell down from high above on a cliff. It was easier a pack, she said, with their backs to a wall and a clear line of sight. Yang had eyed the place with distaste. The valley was ringed with trees that provided good cover and plenty of places to hide. Weiss’ clear line of sight only went so far, and while they hadn’t fought any vampires who used ranged weapons before Yang’s instincts from her mercenary days refused to leave her be. This was a perfect place to hold, and that made it a perfect place to be ambushed as well. 

The ambush however, came not from the White Fang, but from Winter Schnee and her weapon of choice was a surprise so flabbergasting it almost rooted Yang to the spot. “Mom?” she said, aghast, “Dad? Qrow? What are you  _ doing _ here?” 

Indeed the rest of the Xiao Long/Rose household was coming down the hill in the family cart, Winter Schnee at their head on a beautiful silver stallion. Ruby was almost too preoccupied by the horse, as well as Zwei and Shroud who hopped out of the cart as it approached, to notice their family, but she was just as shocked as Yang. 

“Well, we weren’t just going to let you run off into danger without us,” Tai said with a small, forced laugh, “Wouldn’t be very good family if we did.” Before Yang could protest and send them back to Patch, they had hopped out of the cart and started unloading their things. 

“They wouldn’t stop pestering me,” Winter Schnee growled as she dismounted her horse, giving it a soft stroke down the neck that belayed her perpetual scowl. She was every bit like Weiss, or perhaps Weiss was every bit like her, albeit a bit taller and more muscular. A saber and parrying dagger were at her hips, and a longbow slung along her horse’s flank, which she drew as she walked towards her sister, ignoring Yang completely. “Are they all like this?” she asked and Weiss scoffed, barely looking up from sharpening her rapier. 

“Of course they are, you know country folk.” Winter snorted derisively and settled down next to her sister to prepare her weapons. Before Yang could get a word out in defense of country folk, she turned as another person approached. This time it was Qrow, looking just as dischevled and exhausted as ever but with a determined grit to his jaw and a sword slung over his back.

“Hey kiddo,” he said softly, “How you holding up?”

“Aside from being terrified beyond all reason?” Yang snorted, “Fine.”

Qrow laughed and shook his head ruefully, then, “I reached out to Raven about...all this. She’s on the far coast now, so I don’t even know if she got the letter yet or not. Still I just...I tried.”

Yang sighed and looked away as Qrow put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Thanks Qrow. You mind telling me which town she’s in? I’d like to go see her if we survive all this.”

“When we survive it,” Qrow said firmly, “We’ll be fine.” Anything else he said was lost on Yang as she was staring, aghast once again, at Summer, who had hefted an axe bigger than she was out of the cart. She gave it a few experimental swings, moving with ease and grace that Yang had never seen from her before. Qrow turned to follow Yang’s gaze and snorted with laughter. “She never told you about that, huh?” 

“I thought all those stories were made up,” Yang murmured and Qrow shook his head with a small smile.

“Nah, just softened ‘em up for you kids. Raven and Summer were stone cold badasses back in the day. Why they settled for Tai, I’ll never know.” Yang coudl only nod as she watched her mother begin to practice with a weapon that was taller than she was and must have weighed at least fifty pounds, moving from form to form like it was nothing. She was going to have to have a long conversation with her mother after this was over. But that would have to wait, as Qrow said, “Your girlfriend wants you, by the way.”

Yang turned to see Blake on the edge of the clearing, her breath catching in her throat. The iron chest lay open next to her, its contents now fully revealed. Blake had donned a suit of plate mail armor, made with black iron, a purple and gold tabard underneath, bearing a belladonna flower. Yang let her body move closer without much thought, transfixed by Blake as she adjusted her armor, sheathing a pair of swords at her hips. When Yang finally reached her, she couldn’t even speak, staring in pure amazement and adoration.

“Hey,” Blake said softly, rolling her shoulders, “Doesn’t fit as well as it used to, but it should give me some protection.”

“Damn,” Yang breathed out, finding her tongue again and forcing herself to speak, to at least say  _ something _ even if it didn’t come close to the heights of glory she wanted to shower Blake in. “You...you look…”

“Uncomfortable?” Blake teased and Yang gulped heavily, a familiar heat pooling in her core as Blake placed her hand on her hip and smiled coyly.

“I was going to say amazing.”

Blake laughed and shook her head lightly. “It was my mother’s armor, back when she fought side by side with my father. They passed it on to me when I got old enough, and big enough.” 

“Why did they stop fighting?” Yang asked and Blake laughed again.

“They beat everyone else.” 

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Blake sighed and looked away, her smile faltering for a moment, “It’d be a shame to let the Belladonna military legacy die here.” 

“So don’t let it,” Yang said, stepping closer and reaching out, cupping Blake’s cheek. “We’ve got everyone here, we outnumber them, right?”

“It’s Adam, the Albain brothers, Yuma, and Trifa, so yes,” Blake murmured, counting them off on her fingers, “Five vampires against two vampires and a handful of humans.”

“Two of which are vampire hunters,” Yang added and Blake nodded with a rueful smile. “What happened to that scorpion guy?”

“Oh,” Blake smiled sheepishly and looked away, clasping her hand together awkwardly, “I ripped his tail off and he ran away. Don’t think he’ll be coming back any time soon.” Yang’s eyes shot open and she muttered,

“Oh. Right.” 

“He wasn’t even a vampire, just an assassin on a hell of a lot of drugs,” Blake mused, “He was after you, didn’t have any silver.” 

“So Adam knows about me?” Yang asked and Blake nodded slowly. 

“He won’t stop hunting us.”

“Yes he will,” Yang said firmly, and Blake met her eyes again, anxious amber staring into determined lilac. “We’ll stop here, right here. You and me, Blake.”

“You and me,” Blake echoed, reaching out to place her hand on Yang’s chest. She smiled softly, even as tears began to brim in her eyes, “Kiss for good luck?” 

“Always,” Yang whispered and leaned forwards, claiming Blake’s lips with her own. It was a long, slow, tender kiss, and it spoke everything that neither of them could find the words for out loud. It spoke of the depths of Yang’s love, how she wanted to be with Blake every day for the rest of eternity, how much she adored her and would never leave her side. It spoke of Blake’s growing determination, in herself and in their chances of survival, as well as her abounding love for Yang, an almost unimaginably powerful emotion that nearly overwhelmed Yang as she felt it. Instead, she let it flow into her, bringing her heart and soul to new heights of joy and absolute, indescribable love. That was the only word that Yang could come up with, love. That was what they had, pure, true, healthy love. They had sacrificed so much to get here, done so much to become the people they were today.

As their lips separated and they nuzzled their foreheads together, Yang swore to herself and aloud, “We’re gonna make it through this, Blake. We’ve got a whole life to live together.”

“I can’t fucking wait,” Blake whispered and Yang smiled, kissing her again, even as their tears mixed upon their cheeks.

And so they waited, and prepared.

Three days and two nights passed. The makeshift camp they set up was little like the ones that Yang was used to back on Patch or in the Branwen Company. In those camps there had at least been a hint of levity, a joke, a song. There was none of that now, there couldn’t be. Every moment could be an attack. When people weren’t busy preparing their weapons or armor, they were on watch. Blake and Yang took the night watch, sleep no longer needed, with the Schnee sisters bookending them for sunrise and sunset. Ruby and the rest took the bulk of the day. 

“This is what he does,” Blake had reminded everyone, more than once, “He waits until you let down your guard.” Yang spent most of her time twiddling her thumbs and flipping her hammer. There wasn’t much else to do. In any other circumstance she would have loved to take Blake out on a picnic to a scenic little place like this. They would sit by the water, laughing and telling stories, until eventually it got hot enough that they would start to wade. One of them, Yang admitted most likely herself, would playfully splash the other and that would start an all out water fight, which would end with them laughing as they held one another, almost laughing too hard to stand. 

But that wasn’t to be right now. Right now she was so nervous that she could barely sit still, flitting between helping Ruby practice with her scythe and scouting the outer edges of the valley. She had even gotten around to asking her mother about her axe. Summer had smiled and waved the questions away, writing it off as a relic of her past. That was hardly a satisfactory answer for Yang and she resolved to ask Raven the next time they met. Raven, if not particularly compassionate, did love to tell stories, especially ones with unhappy endings. It was part of the reason why Summer had never let her tell a young Yang and Ruby bedtime stories. The other part was due to Raven telling them horror stories so frightening that Yang had stayed with a fire poker, protecting Ruby from anything that moved. Raven never had gotten the hang of raising children. 

That thought, at least, brought a smile to Yang’s face as she sat on the edge of the camp, the moon high above. Blake was scouting the outskirts of the valley, and everyone else was asleep. It was these moments, the long hours of quiet, that made Yang most nervous. Every snapping twig was an approaching attacker, every gust of wind was a whispered order. Even with her now enhanced hearing strained to the very edge of her ability, Yang still expected their attackers to appear as if from nothing. 

She was more right than she had known. The footsteps reached her ears by the time they were on the edge of the clearing, and Yang whirled around, leaping to her feet. She saw the eyes first, bright blue glaring into lilac, followed swiftly by the red tint of his sword. His eyes were joined by five more pairs, appearing too quickly for Yang to catalogue them properly. She stumbled back towards the camp, her hammer flying into her hand, crying out, “Blake? Blake get over here!” 

“What?” Blake shouted from across the clearing, and she must have turned and seen their approaching attackers as she shouted, “Shit! Everybody get up!” Immediately the camp was a burst of sound and motion as every woke up, snatching up weapons and haphazardly throwing on armor. Their attackers must have been truly confident, waiting until the entire camp was ready and assembled before approaching. They drew their weapons slowly and purposefully, eyes flicking between the defenders, veins of blue shooting through their natural colors. Yang saw the one with bat wings grin wolfishly as he saw the humans, a smug smile spreading across the face of a woman with a spider web hanging from her hand. The next two were similar enough to be brothers, with fox ears and a tail apiece, holding glowing daggers with practiced grips. There was the man himself, the one that Yang would recognize anywhere from how Blake had described him, carefully tracing patterns in the air with his sword, his eyes locked onto Blake. Then, finally, there was another woman, the sight of which made Blake gasp, covering her mouth with one hand.

“Ilia?” she whispered. The woman frowned, gray eyes fluttering closed for a second before snapping back open, the blue veins all the more pronounced as she growled and unfurled a whip. Blake turned a hideous glare to Adam, snarling. “You told me she was dead!” 

“Is it my fault you were stupid enough to believe it?” Adam drawled, voice crimson as blood, and Blake drew her swords. The rest of their band followed suit, the Schnee sisters settling into fighting stances easily, while Tai and Ruby nervously shifted their weapons from hand to hand. Qrow and Summer were a bit better, but both were clearly out of practice, shifting their feet too much and not settling their weight properly. Blake struggled to form a response, and Adam rolled his eyes. “Corsac, Fennec, kill the Schnees.” The brothers nodded mechanically, daggers flashing with wicked intent in the moonlight. “Yuma, Trifa, feast on the humans.” The man with bat wings and the woman with the spider’s web grinned savagely, their fangs flashing in the night. “Ilia, subdue the silver eyed one. I’ve got a special plan for her.” 

“What?” Yang shouted in outrage, but it was too late. The fight started so quickly it was a blur, the vampires flying at the humans, weapons flashing in the night. The Schnees bounded backwards, blades singing through the air as they deflected the blows of the brothers, grim expressions set on their faces. Qrow yelped as a spider’s web wrapped around his arms and legs, making him collapse to the ground. The woman with grey eyes, Ilia, leapt at Ruby, who shrieked and swung wildly, barely deflecting the blow. Tai bellowed and charged at Ilia, Ruby joining in after a moment’s hesitation. Summer followed suit, flying across the battlefield so quickly that even Yang’s vampiric eyesight couldn’t keep track, leaping into the air with her axe raised high and a horrifying snarl on her face as she attacked the ones named Yuma and Trifa. 

All of that paled in comparison to Adam, who had slammed into Blake with such force that she had been sent reeling backwards. Yang cried out in horror, pushing though the battlefield as best she could, defending those she was near, in a mad dash to reach Blake. She smacked aside a strike from Ilia that was meant for her sister, bowling the woman over and giving her family the advantage. Her feet pounded the dirt as she chased after Blake and Adam, a flurry of sword strikes in the distance as they fought. 

Blake howled in pain as Adam’s blade hit home, a thrust through her hip, and Yang bellowed, white hot rage filling her body. Adam turned to look at her contemptuously, drawing out his sword and smacking aside one of Blake’s blades as she feebly tried to counter attack. Then Yang was on them, swinging wildly with her hammer. Every stroke was parried, every block countered perfected. She swung high and her hammer was turned aside. She swung low and Adam nimbly leapt aside. Then she delivered a vicious overhead strike and Adam struck back. 

Yang screamed, reeling backwards in pain as Adam’s blade crunched into the bone of her arm. It didn’t go clean through, but it had certainly broken something and her hammer sailed away in the dark, useless. WIth a sob, Yang collapsed to the ground next to Blake, then screeched as Adam wrenched his sword out of her arm. She leaned heavily on her other arm, feeling blood pool on the ground next to her as Adam flicked his sword to the side, droplets of blood flying off it and wetting the dirt. He turned to glare at them, his eyes gleaming in the night with that same, horrible blue, and Yang’s heart sank. This was it. This was where it ended. Everything they’d done, every step, every heartbreak, every kiss, had all led to this. Adam was going to kill them both, and then move onto their families. Yang’s eyes fell to Blake, saw the same hopelessness in her eyes as she turned to meet her gaze. There, deep within the sorrow and pain, was a glimmer of hope, a silver lining. At least they were together at the end.

Adam roared in rage and swung down, and then it was like time froze. Yang stared into Blake’s eyes and saw the same realization, the same determination bud in the depths of their souls and grow until it was a beautiful garden of hope and potential. Together, they snatched up Blake’s blades. Together they bellowed in defiance. Together, as Adam swung too high and too slow, they buried the silvered blades deep into his heart. 

Time resumed its motion. Adam collapsed to the ground on his knees, his sword falling away. He looked to both Blake and Yang, meeting their eyes slowly, then muttered a soft, “Oh.” Then he collapsed to the ground, the swords falling out of his chest and to the ground as his body began to disintegrate from the heart outwards. 

All that Blake and Yang could do was stare until every last piece had turned to ash and been taken away by the midnight wind. Then Blake let out a choked sob and Yang gasped, instinctually pulling her close for a hug. “Hey, hey baby,” Yang cooed softly, pushing the pain of her injury aside for the sake of comforting Blake, “It’s okay. It’s over. He’s gone.”

“I know,” Blake whispered, “I know he is. I just...I don’t know what to do now.” 

Yang sighed softly, smiling gently as adoration replaced rage and fear, as love poured into her heart and flowed from her to Blake and back again. She nuzzled her forehead against Blake as the sound of fighting faded behind them, Ruby whooping in victory as the Schnees idly compared their fighting styles. Qrow was cursing as Summer helped him to his feet and Tai let out a heavy sigh, sinking to the ground with a soft,

“I can’t deal with all this vampire shit.” 

Blake let out a watery laugh as she heard that, then looked over Yang’s shoulder and murmured, “Thank the fucking gods,” Yang turned to follow Blake’s eye, gaze settling on the gray eyed woman who was stumbling around, the blue drained from her eyes. Blake leaned back and met Yang’s eyes, her gaze tearful and joyful all at once. “It’s really over isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Yang said softly, her heart warm and light from love as she gazed at the woman she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. “It really is.”

“Now what?” Blake asked and Yang shrugged with a sheepish smile.

“I dunno. On Patch we’d get plastered and eat too much food, then pass out singing drinking songs.”

Blake pursed her lips in thought for a moment, then nodded curtly. “I like that idea.” 

“Yeah?” Yang asked and Blake nodded again. 

“Yeah.” Yang leaned forwards and kissed her softly, tasting their tears as their victory sank in. Their lips separated briefly and Blake’s voice became stern. “But no getting drunk for you, missy. I don’t want to have you snuggling me so tightly I can’t get up in the morning again.”

“C’mon, you love me,” Yang teased lightly and Blake’s gaze softened.

“Yeah,” she murmured, “I really do.”

Yang smiled tenderly, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks as she gazed at Blake. “I love you too.” They kissed again, and again, and again, as the night carried on around them. It was truly over. Now they had to figure out the rest of forever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I could've stretched this fight out for more than one chapter, but the next prompt is 'Sweater' and I really didn't feel like doing the mental gymnastics to make that one work for a fight.  
> On the other hand I finished writing the prompts yesterday and don't know what to do with myself, so I guess it's back to one shots.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	29. Day Twenty Nine-Sweater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the celebration for their victory over Adam, Yang and Blake discuss immortality. Summer and Yang have an important conversation.

Planning forever could wait, at least for a little while. Otherwise how could it possibly be forever? If forever can’t wait, then it wouldn’t be forever at all, it would be just like every other moment in life. And that would defeat the whole purpose.

The celebration of their victory over Adam was going much the same way as Yang had described it to Blake, with lots of food, dancing, and drinking. The party had just been meant for the family, and the Schnees of course, but word had spread and a handful of others had joined in, with large platters of food in tow to make up for crashing the party. Now two tables were set aside for the small feast that had been gathered, full of all kinds of things from venison stew to clam cakes to Summer’s famous chocolate chip cookies. 

As the moon rose higher into the sky, Yang reclined in her chair to watch the goings on, keen senses never missing anything. Tai and Summer were dancing together like they had in their youth, switching between who led and who followed, a blur of beautifully synchronized motion across the yard of the Xiao Long/Rose farmstead. Velvet and Coco were busy providing music, armed with a fiddle and a drum respectively, joined by an enthusiastic, if less talented, Sun Wukong from the horse pasture over the hill. Qrow and Winter were swapping war stories near the fire, trying to outdo one another with ridiculous deeds and heroic moments. In the middle of it all, Weiss was trying, and failing, to teach Ruby to dance. For all her skill at drawing and with a scythe, Ruby still had two left feet when it came to dancing. Yang had tried for years to teach her how to dance, all of it for naught. For someone who could sprint full tilt through the woods without so much as a stumble, Ruby was a hazard on the dancefloor, nearly careening into Summer and Tai more than once. Shroud was curled up near the fire, having given up on pushing Zwei aside. The tiny dog had settled down next to her and was happily panting next to his newest friend. He and Ruby were alike in that way, Yang thought with a fond smile, able to make friends out of the prickliest of people. She had even managed to convince Blake’s old childhood friend, Ilia, to promise to come to Patch when she was ready. She and Blake had spent a long time, nearly a day all told, talking, laughing, crying, and figuring out where they stood. Blake forgave Ilia for everything she had done, of course. The vampiric control that Adam had exerted over her had been too strong to resist in any substantial way, after all, and Blake was all too familiar with it. So the two had parted on good terms, with Blake returning to Patch and Ilia heading out into the world to rediscover herself. It might have been nice, Yang mused, to have her here at the party, but then again, she had all of eternity to find out who she was and they could throw a party for her then.

The only two people who weren’t enjoying the festivities to their height were Blake and Yang, who were quietly sitting on the outskirts with an arm around one another. They were clad in Ruby’s attempt at sweaters, which had rapidly become a long interconnected yellow and black scarf instead. It was a fine gift, they both agreed, and had wrapped around themselves for a bit of warmth in the chilly spring air. Yang sighed softly and let her head fall to rest on Blake’s shoulder, making Blake smile at the contact. They watched Tai and Summer dance for a while, a graceful display of skill and elegance that Yang ahd nearly forgotten her parents were capable of, until Yang murmured, “No idea how she took down two vampires.”

Blake snorted softly with laughter and said, “Me neither. I’m kinda scared of her now, honestly.”

“Nah, you’re fine,” Yang said, nuzzling her head against Blake. “You’re with me, she won’t hurt you.”

There was a moment of silence as they watched the party, Ruby stumbling across the yard as she tripped over her feet, Weiss chasing after her with a curse. “How is she dealing with...you know?” Blake asked softly and Yang sighed, a cloud of sorrow wafting over her heart as she studied the ground, trying to come up with the best way to explain what was happening. 

“She hasn’t really spoken to me since we got back,” Yang murmured and Blake gasped, wrapping her up into a tight, reassuring embrace. Yang let herself settle into Blake’s hug, nuzzling into her chest and drawing comfort from her presence.

“Fuck, I’m-I’m so sorry, Yang,” Blake breathed out and Yang sniffled, fighting back the tears that she had been shedding almost continuously since their return to Patch.

“It’s okay,” she murmured, “Dad says she’ll come around eventually. I just...just…” Blake gave her a reassuring squeeze and Yang smiled despite her sorrow as she felt the courage from her partner spark a fire of hope in her heart. “We’re immortal, Blake. They’re not. I just...don’t know what I’m gonna do when-when-” She was cut off by a sob that forced its way out of her throat and she collapsed into Blake’s chest entirely. Blake cooed softly, rubbing comforting circles into her back as Yang cried, the party carrying on around them.

“I know, baby, I know. And I’m so fucking sorry,” Blake said softly, giving Yang another reassuring squeeze. “But you’re not going to go through it alone.” Yang nodded slowly against Blake’s chest, choking back another sob. “I’m here,” Blake whispered, “I’ll always be here. We’ll face it together.”

“Together,” Yang murmured, feeling the connection between her and Blake strengthen just a hair more, like tightening a knot. It grounded her in that moment, tethered her to Blake even as she knew the rest of the world would turn on around them. At the very least, she knew, in her heart of hearts, that she would always have Blake. That was enough to make her lean back and smile through her tears, nuzzling her forehead against Blake’s. It was as though time froze in that moment, for just a moment. All there was in the whole world was Blake and Yang, together, strengthening each other, protecting each other, being brave when the other could not, always being there for each other. It was a small part of their love, such a thing was far too deep to describe with only those words, but it was a part nonetheless. It was a part of their foundation, of their lives together, lives that would stretch ever onwards until the sun went out entirely. 

But for now, they could simply enjoy the party. They nuzzled again and kissed lightly, feeling the depths of their love rising up to embrace the other, then turned to watch the rest of the party, their family. Ruby was starting to get the hang of dancing, if only because Weiss had tied their legs together, Winter was the undeniable winner of her contest with Qrow, Summer and Tai were slowly spinning in a circle, resting their foreheads against one another while Coco, Velvet, and Sun played a slow song to wind down the night. Yang didn’t know how much longer she would have with them all, even if she knew it would never be enough. For right now, she could enjoy the moment. That was all she needed, to be with her family. That was all she had ever needed. 

As the song ended, Yang and Blake applauded while the dancers stepped away, Weiss furiously untying her and Ruby’s legs. Ruby, on the other hand, was laughing her head off as she lay on the ground, having fallen over her own feet as the song ended. Yang smiled fondly as her sister struggled to her feet, looking over and giving Yang and Blake a toothy smile and a thumbs up. “Want some food, babe?” Yang asked, glancing at Blake.

“Oh, please. Some more of that salmon, please,” Blake replied, almost salivating as she said it. Yang snorted with laughter and stood, heading towards the tables of food. As she loaded up a plate of salmon for Blake and venison for herself, Yang turned to find her mother next to her. Summer cleared her throat awkwardly and Yang smiled as best she could, the past few days of silence hanging heavily over them.

“Yang,” Summer said, “We need to talk.” Yang sighed and ran a hand through her hair, muttering,

“Yeah, we do. You mind if I drop off the food for Blake?” Summer shook her head slowly, and gestured towards the house. “I’ll meet you in there.” As Yang walked back to her partner, she sighed again. She could only imagine what her mother was going to say, and none of it sounded good as it rattled around in her mind. She handed the plate over to Blake, saying, “I gotta go talk to Summer.”

“About wh-oh…” Blake murmured, looking away. “Fuck, Yang, I’m-”

“Blake, it’s fine,” Yang said, resting a hand on Blake’s shoulder with a soft smile, “It’ll be okay. We’ll...we’ll figure it out.” Blake opened her mouth to say something else, then stopped herself and smiled. 

“Okay.” Yang smiled a bit more at that, feeling the same warm confidence in her chest that Blake always gave her. She leaned over and gave her a small peck on the cheek, which made Blake giggle softly, then made her way to the house. Summer was waiting for her at the dining room table, hands clasped in front of her. She gestured at the seat next to her and Yang took it, smiling weakly while simultaneously trying to hide her fangs. From her mother’s disapproving sigh, it didn’t work. “So...uh...what did you want to talk about?”

Yang could see a thousand and one things flash across Summer’s eyes as she sat there in silence, before she let out a heavy sigh. “Your sister.” 

“Ruby?” Yang asked, furrowing her brow in confusion. Summer nodded slowly, with a definitive certainty that made Yang gulp nervously. “I-I can find somewhere else to live, if you want,” Yang whispered, feeling tears brimming in her eyes as she said it. She had known this was coming. Of course Summer would want her leave, it was only fair. She hated vampires with a burning passion that rivaled the very sun above, and Yang couldn’t blame her for it. Not even the ties of family could change that, could change the fact that Yang was now, irreversibly, a monster. Summer slumped in her chair, her professional posture falling away as she did so.

“That’s not it, Yang. You’re my daughter, even with...everything else.” 

The sorrow and depression that flooded Yang’s heart flowed away, replaced with confusion and doubt. “What?”

“You’re still my daughter,” Summer said softly, “I don’t agree with what you did, with what Blake did, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a part of this family. And, so is Blake.” She sighed heavily and reached across the table to clasp Yang’s hands with her own. “I love you, Yang. Nothing is going to change that.” Yang gasped and felt a sob force its way out of her throat, collapsing against her mother as tears started to stream down her cheeks. Summer cupped the back of her head and held her close, so much like when Yang was a child that for a moment she thought she had never grown up at all. They stayed like that for a while, with Yang sobbing into her mother’s shoulder. “Oh, my little dragon,” Summer murmured, “Sunflower, it’s okay. It’s okay. We’re all together now. We’re family.” 

“I-I just-” Yang choked out, “I thought that-that you wouldn’t love me anymore.” The moment she said the words, she knew they were true. The fear had seemed ludicrous when it had crossed her mind one the way back to Patch, but it had still taken root and spread its sinister corruption through her mind and heat, cursing her with the thought that the woman who had raised her might abandon her entirely. Gods, it felt good to feel that cursed thought fade away as Summer hugged her tighter, Yang now crying openly. Eventually they parted, Yang still leaning against her mother, who had an arm comfortingly around her shoulders. “S-so,” she managed, “What about Ruby?”

Summer was silent for a long moment, and Yang suddenly feared that she had said something wrong, but then her mother murmured, “What are you going to do if she asks you to turn her?”

“I-I hadn’t thought about,” Yang admitted, feeling a shock of realization in her chest at the idea. She had no idea how she would feel if Ruby wanted to become a vampire. She certainly hated the idea of anyone else turning her, but the idea was almost too impossible to consider.

“Then you need to figure it out,” Summer said bluntly and Yang sniffled, brows furrowed in confusion once again. “She’s going to ask. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a few years, but she will.”

“How do you know?” Yang asked softly and Summer sighed, looking to all the world like a weight had settled upon her shoulders.

“She can’t live without you, Yang, not right now anyway. She’s...she’s still so young. Besides, I don’t think she’d allow herself to pass on without seeing every animal in Remnant.” Yang snorted softly with laughter at that and SUmmer smiled for a moment, just a flicker of motion, but it was there. “And I don’t think you should live without her either. You’re an adult, and I know that you were with Raven for years,” Summer added quickly, “But I know you. You don’t want to outlive her.”

“No, I don’t,” Yang whispered, “Gods alive, I would hate myself if I did.” Summer nodded knowingly and gave Yang a reassuring squeeze before standing. She helped Yang to her feet and murmured,

“Think about it, okay?” Yang nodded with a small smile, and Summer cleared her throat, reaching up to wipe away Yang’s tears with all the businesslike efficiency of a mother. “Now, we should get back to the party. Gods know what trouble they’ve gotten up to out there.” Yang snorted with laughter again and then, as if on cue, there was a tremendous crash and angry shouting from Winter. 

Yang smirked as she glanced towards the door, and murmured, “Shall we?” Summer gave her another squeeze, then made her way back to the party. Yang sighed and ran a hand through her hair, feeling a warm glow of happiness in her heart. They could figure out what Ruby wanted when she had figured it out herself. Right now, she was just happy to have her family back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit more angst before the end of the month!


	30. Day Thirty-Piano

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three hundred and fifteen years after the events of the last chapter, tavernkeep Ren has another run in with the vampires.

Three hundred and fifteen years later-

It had been fifteen years since Ren had seen the vampires, but he’d never forgotten them. Even if Jaune and Pyrrha had managed to move on past the horrors of that morning, choosing to forget about it entirely rather than keep the memory fresh, and Nora had convinced herself that it was a coincidence, Ren refused to let it go. They had been here, and there had been an attack. That wasn’t something that he was willing to let slide, not when it had come so close to the people he loved. A silvered dagger now sat at his side and he spent much of his spare time practicing with a bow. Much of the money he made from tips went to silvering those arrows. Nora thought it was a waste of time and Lien, but Ren insisted. If they ever came for him and his family, they would regret it. 

That didn’t stop him from freezing in his tracks as a familiar pair wandered into the Flower Power Tavern, arm in arm, laughing quietly and not looking a day older than they had all those years ago, even as Ren was starting to go grey. They took seats at the bar and Nora pranced over, still a bundle of energy in her middle age. In fact, Ren thought idly as he watched her cheerfully interact with the vampires, she had only grown more energetic, as though to make up for the rigors of age. 

He put the two from his mind as best he could. There was no time to confront them now, and no way to do so without drawing unwanted attention. So he kept working, hand drifting to the dagger at his hip whenever he glanced their way. Once the crowd had cleared out some, then he could warn them what would happen should they dare to harm anyone in this bar. 

As the night progressed and Pyrrha showed off her growing skill on the piano, Ren began to listen to the vampire’s conversation as best he could, catching snippets here and there as he worked. It seemed that they weren’t on the hunt tonight, only stopping in for a drink as though they were just like everyone else. The thought was laughable. 

“...but then she refused to leave while there were still people in danger,” the blonde one murmured and the black haired one laughed softly, wrapping an arm around her companion. She smiled as the blonde let her head fall onto her should with a contented hum, before saying,

“That sounds like Ruby all right. She always was a bleeding heart.”

“And now she has all of eternity to prove it,” the blonde said and they laughed again. Ren grit his teeth as he worked, hand clenching into a fist. Here they were, monsters in the flesh, joking about being immortal like it was nothing, like it was a casual conversation. “Have you heard anything else?”

“Weiss is busy in Vacuo, trying to hunt down that warlord she’s obsessed with.”

“What was her name again? Amber or something?”

“Cinder, love. Weiss is convinced she’s trying to find the same woman who gave Adam his vampirism.” The blonde grunted in acknowledgement, then muttered,

“Still can’t believe she agreed to be turned.”

“I can’t believe it was Winter’s idea,” the black haired one said and the blonde snorted with laughter. 

“Something about preserving the family legacy, wasn’t it?” the blonde asked and the black haired one nodded in agreement. A somber silence passed over them and Ren narrowed his eyes in surprise that such creatures could feel the depths of that emotion.

“I guess that’s what we’re all doing, isn’t it?” the black haired one muttered and the blonde nodded slowly.

“Yeah, I guess.” She sighed and glanced around the tavern, eyes landing on Ren. Her lilac eyes narrowed as she saw him studying them, and she whispered something to her companion. The black haired one looked up and locked eyes with him as well, and suddenly Ren felt very small indeed. 

“Don’t worry about him, love,” the black haired one said, loud enough to be heard clearly now, “He’s an amateur.” 

“It’s not like there’s any other vampires in these parts,” the blonde muttered and her partner nodded slowly, eyes still locked with Ren’s. He gulped heavily as she continued, “It’s a good thing, really.”

“It’s also a good thing that we don’t want people like him,” the black haired one hissed, “So unless he’s got someone real nasty he wants us to go see, he can keep his hand away from that dagger.” Ren wheeled on his heel and marched into the kitchen, all but throwing his dagger aside as he went. His heart pounded in his chest as he realized how foolish he had been, thinking that he could handle a pair of vampires on his own. Nora was right, he realized as he heard her talking with the vampires, this had been foolishness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of transition for the two time periods, not sure how well it works overall.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	31. Day Thirty One-Abuse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After settling down in Vale, Blake and Yang live their daily lives as immortal vampires.

Yang sighed happily as she reclined in her favorite chair, a lovely rocking chair that she had carved herself. That was one of the advantages of immortality, you had infinite time to perfect your skills. She looked around her and Blake’s house lazily, eyes tracing over the living room and the kitchen, the small library that Blake had insisted they add on, the fireplace complete with a massive black cat that Blake had let Yang name. She had delightedly called her Ember, and she suspected that Ruby visited them more to see the cat than to see her sister. 

It hadn’t been a huge surprise that Ruby had chosen to become a vampire with them, though it had surprised everyone when Summer had advocated for it herself. There was still a lot about her mother that Yang couldn't quite figure out, even now all these centuries later. 

Gods, it had been centuries, hadn’t it? Sometimes it felt like just the other day, but then Yang saw how different the world was and realized how much time had passed. Streets were properly paved now, cities covered the entire world, those gigantic metal beasts that Ruby insisted were called ‘trains’ raced from place to place, reminding Yang every day how much the world had moved on from that year all that time ago. But at the very least it had given her one thing that she loved almost as much as she loved Blake, which her eyes rested on out the window. A black chassis with yellow accents, just like she had wanted in the market three centuries prior, though now it finally had the engine the merchant had promised which made it  _ go _ . It was an Oobleck eight cylinder, Yang was proud to say now that she understood it. Much of her past few years had been spent pouring over motorcycles, learning everything she could about them until now she was quite confident she could build one on her own. She loved that bike, spending almost all her spare time fiddling with it when she wasn’t wrapped around Blake as they relaxed in bed. Just like Ruby had her drawings and Blake had her books, Yang had her tools and her motorcycle. It was something to keep her moving and to keep her busy, and was a much more socially acceptable practice these days than being an amateur weaponsmith. She had even started to run a small mechanic’s shop out of their garage, not that they really needed Lien as immortal vampires but it was fun to meet the people in the city and connect over a shared love for mechanics. 

“Hi love,” Blake purred as she draped herself over Yang’s shoulders, making Yang gasp in surprise. She scowled halfheartedly as Blake snickered and placed a kiss on her cheek.

“I can hear the neighbors opening the third can of food for their cat today,” Yang muttered, “How do you  _ do  _ that?” 

“Vampire secrets. I’ll tell you when you’re older,” Blake teased lightly and Yang laughed, turning to kiss her fully. She smiled into the kiss, smelling the now familiar and calming scent of chamomile and old books that was so intrinsically Blake that she couldn't help but love it. She heard Blake hum softly as she buried her face into her hair. “Right now I could use some cuddles.”

“You can always use some cuddles. You’re a cuddle fiend,” Yang said and Blake laughed again, nuzzling against Yang’s cheek. 

“Mmhmm. I am.”

“C’mon then you,” Yang said as she pushed herself upright, looping an arm around Blake’s waist. “Let’s go get you some cuddles.” They walked into their bedroom, Blake kicking off her shoes as they went, and fell into bed together, a tangle of limbs and lips as they began to snuggle. Blake squirmed until she was pressing her back against Yang and Yang curled around her protectively. “You find anything interesting while you were out?” Yang murmured as she reached over, entwining their fingers together. Blake shrugged and said,

“I got a letter from Weiss. She’s still on the trail of that Cinder woman.” Cinder, as the vampiric family had learned, was a small scale criminal who was looking to find the secrets of immortality. The only such method that they knew of was vampirism, and they all knew that someone as ruthless as Cinder could never be allowed to gain that kind of power. If Weiss was to be believed, they would be overwhelmed by her within a decade if she became a vampire, and so the Schnee had dedicated her life, or un-life as it were, to stopping her. 

Yang snorted softly, “She  _ is  _ obsessed.” Blake nodded with a small laugh before saying,

“Of all the people we could’ve turned, I’m still not sure why Weiss was so eager.”

Yang shrugged and nuzzled into the back of Blake’s neck, making her giggle. “Didn’t she say she wanted to keep hunting vampires forever?”

“Seems a bit counter intuitive,” Blake muttered and Yang laughed softly. They nuzzled closer, Yang burying her face into the back of Blake’s neck as she murmured,

“You hear anything from Ilia?” Blake nodded slowly with a heavy sigh and said,

“Yeah. She’s back on Menagerie right now, settled down in the outskirts of Kuo Kuana. She’s doing well, all things considered.” Yang hummed softly in thought as she heard that. Blake and Ilia had been recovering their friendship slowly, over the course of centuries. Where once they had spoken twice a decade, at best, now they wrote letters every week. IT made Yang laugh softly to see Blake writing a letter when there were all the modern conveniences of communication, but Blake insisted. It reminded her of her childhood with Ilia, and Ilia staunchly refused to go anywhere near a telegraph. So they communicated in their own way, and it warmed Yang’s heart to see them grow close once more.

“Do you think you want to visit at some point?” she asked softly, and Blake sighed again. Yang winced slightly as she heard it. Going back to the Menagerie was still a touchy subject for Blake, but now with Ilia there she might finally be able to take the leap.

“Maybe,” Blake said, “We’ll see.” Yang nodded with a small smile, and they lay there in contented silence for a while again, drinking in one another’s presence. Yang felt her eyes begin to close, drifting into the thoughtless peace that passed for sleep with vampires, when Blake added, “I also found who we’re feeding on this month.”

“Oh? Don’t we usually have a choice?” That was the unfortunate consequence of living in the city: there were far too many people to feed on that fit the bill of being so perfectly horrible that death was too good a fate for them. It was still a miniscule number, maybe one for every fifty thousand, but it was still far too many for even a pair of vampires to keep up with. Still, Yang mused, the newspapers all said the city was slowly becoming safer, even with the strange disappearances every few months. 

“We do, but this one needs to get taken care of now,” Blake muttered, “It’s that woman who lives down the street, Coco’s descendant.” Yang nodded slowly in acknowledgement, knowing her well. They had connected as soon as Blake and Yang had moved into the City of Vale properly, a pleasant connection to home on Patch. She still had portraits of Coco and Velvet over the mantle, citing them both as inspirations. Yang had to agree, even if Coco had spent the later years of her life trying to shovel as much garlic onto the Xiao Long/Rose household as she could. 

“What’s up with her?” Yang asked, gently tracing patterns onto the back of Blake’s hand with her thumb. Blake shuddered and Yang froze, murmuring, “Sorry.”

“No, it’s not you,” Blake said, giving her a reassuring squeeze and Yang continued to trace patterns on her hand with a soft smile. “It’s this woman’s boyfriend. He’s...awful. Really awful, like Adam was.”

“Abusive?” Yang murmured, feeling Blake shudder again. Even now, all these years later, Blake still had trouble talking about Adam, about the things he had done. Everything she told Yang made her glad that they had defeated him, and now the two were joined in righteous fury against anyone who would treat someone else like that. 

“Yeah,” Blake whispered, “He’s...rough with her. She started wearing long sleeves again, I noticed the last time we had her over for dinner. It’s the middle of summer, and she’s so scared of him.”

“Did she tell you?” Yang asked softly and Blake shrugged.

“Not in specifics, but she talked about how she was scared to go home, how he only allowed her to come see us because she knew us beforehand and didn’t want to make us suspicious.” Blake shuddered and Yang hugged her tightly until the shaking went away. “I fucking hate people like that. We need to do something as soon as we can.” Yang nodded in agreement and the silence returned, now punctuated by Blake’s soft, shuddering breaths and Yang’s soft coos of comfort as she held her wife. 

There was a long moment of silence as Yang felt the now familiar hunger bubbling up in her body, beginning her chest and radiating outwards until it tingled in her fingers and her fangs. “Well…” she murmured, “I’m feeling kinda peckish tonight.”

“Yeah,” Blake said, giving her another reassuring squeeze. “Me too.” Yeah, Yang thought, things were a whole lot different than they were all those years ago. But she still wouldn’t trade it for the world. She had her sister, a woman who was slowly working her way up to being her best friend, and the love of life. On top of that, they were all immortal. Yang thought that things had worked out for the best, and as she kissed Blake softly on the neck, hearing a pleased hum leave her throat, she knew that Blake thought so too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it, folks! All of Beetober, finished up. It was so much fun to write, and I'm gonna miss it a lot. Vampire bees are the best!   
> No idea where there's gonna be another daily posted story like this, but we'll see.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


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